Contractors to Receive Ksh 235Million Pending Bills According Task Force Report
The Mt Kenya Times 
The Task Force committee, chair Quantity Surveyor, Haroun Nyakundi handing over the report to Kisii County Governor Simba Arati at Gusii Stadium. Photo/Elizabeth Angira
By Elizabeth Angira
Worth Noting:
- Some contracts, noted the chairman, were awarded to contractors without a budget and were not signed, noting it put them at risk, adding, some chief officers photocopied contract documents and gave contractors to sign.
- “In some cases, chief officers failed to form inspection committees for the projects and some projects were inspected by self –appointed inspectors instead of chief officers” Nyakundi noted, adding, public procurement and Disposal Act was flouted.
- The chairman said some contractors had award letters only and never proved that they had done work and inspection Report showed they never went to the site despite demanding to be paid.
A Task Force formed by governor Simba Arati to audit contracts and services has recommended the government to pay contractors Ksh. 235 million out of Ksh. 1.69 billion pending Bills he inherited from the previous government.
Handing over the Report to the governor at Gusii stadium, the Task Force committee, chaired by Quantity Surveyor, Haroun Nyakundi said that projects worth Ksh 130 m be verified and certified before the contractors are paid.
The chairman who headed a nine-member Committee noted a Chief Officer wrote to Resident Engineer instructing them not to inspect site projects until the contractors paid bribes, adding, some payments had been delayed for ten years.
“Some contractors used government machinery to construct roads but had no receipts. Some tenders were irregularly awarded, re-evaluated and awarded” Nyakundi said
He said a contractor gave photos of work he had done with prisoners being supervised by wardens in uniform while some work had been certified as 100 percent complete and recommended for payments, only for the Committee to discover they were incomplete.
Some contracts, noted the chairman, were awarded to contractors without a budget and were not signed, noting it put them at risk, adding, some chief officers photocopied contract documents and gave contractors to sign.
“In some cases, chief officers failed to form inspection committees for the projects and some projects were inspected by self –appointed inspectors instead of chief officers” Nyakundi noted, adding, public procurement and Disposal Act was flouted.
The chairman said some contractors had award letters only and never proved that they had done work and inspection Report showed they never went to the site despite demanding to be paid.
In his Report, the official said some contractors had exaggerated payments and urged county officers to rectify the mistakes for them to be paid.
The governor said his government will pay only genuine contractors and action is taken against officers who abetted graft.
“The government will not pay ksh. 1.2 b demanded by contractors and suppliers. Only Ksh. 235 m will be paid and Ksh. 130 m after verification and certification has been done” Arati said
He said he is ready to be corrected, urged contractors who had stolen public funds to refund them to be forgiven, adding, those who decline will face the law.
The governor said corrupt contractors will not be awarded contracts and tenders for ten years if he is re-elected, adding, the probe on pending bills has delayed implementation of development in the county.
Ghost Workers
Early this year a staff audit conducted for Kisii county by the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM) revealed 1,314 employees out of 5,696 never turned up during head count commissioned by Governor Simba Arati.
The management’s Executive Director, Quresh Ahmed Abdullahi noted the county also lost more than Sh600 million wage bills, a sharp increase between 2021/2022 compared to 2020/2021.
The report disclosed that between 2013/2021, 46 employees retired, one died but were still on the payroll in October 2022, adding, that 100 out of 137 employees with People with Disabilities (PWDs) had fake certificates.
The County also between October 2019 and 2022, lost about Sh4.5m through irregular promotions.
Similar Posts by The Mt Kenya Times:
- Mt Kenya Times ePAPER September 19-20, 2026
- Kenya joins US and UK to put citizens on the terrorism frontline
- Kenya’s parliament races to tame the AI frontier
- Kalonzo calls Ruto to order over Uhuru attacks
- Gachagua takes his 2027 campaign to America
About the Author
