The contractor upgrading 40 Kilometers Kilgoris- Lolgorian road at a cost of Sh1.478 billion has been put on notice after it emerged that he has done only four kilometers since the contract was signed in August 2020.
This is despite the government through Kenya Rural Road Authority (KeRRA) having paid Sh291 million plus an advance payment of 10 percent of the contract sum, to upgrade the road that connects Trans Mara West and South to bitumen standard.
Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde who led the County Development Implementation Coordination Committee (CDICC) to inspect the project warned the China based company that they risked being arrested and deported to their country for squandering government money.
The commissioner said despite the project timelines having been from August 2020 to August 2023, the contractor is far behind schedule because he had done only 18 percent of the work when he was expected to have completed more than half of the total work.
Commissioner Masinde asked the company dubbed ‘Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Kenya Limited’ to do a clear work plan and submit it to his office through the regional KeRRA office, as a commitment that they would complete the road works without delay.
“We will not entertain any sluggishness in government contracts. Instead, we will enforce the law and have foreign contractors deported back to their country,” he said.
KeRRA regional resident Engineer Charles Kerembe said the contractor was awarded the contract through a competitive tendering process after the company demonstrated that it had the capacity to construct the road.
“To date, 58. 33 per cent of the contact period has elapsed with only 18.104 per cent of the overall progress achieved. I want the contractor to do a work plan on how he commits to do the work to recover the lost time,” said Engineer Kerembe.
Also present during the inspection tour was a representative from the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) John Karanja, Narok County Police commander Kizito Mutoro and officials from the planning department.
It was envisaged that upon completion, the road project would support the primary growth sectors of the area economy especially agriculture and enhance mobility within the catchment.
