Millions wasted, no homes built: Auditor General slams counties over speaker housing plan

A multibillion-shilling plan to build official residences for county assembly speakers has spiralled into a web of delays, inflated budgets, abandoned projects, and questionable spending, with thirteen counties now cited by the Auditor-General for failing to meet construction deadlines set more than three years ago.

Despite clear guidelines and capped budgets from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the projects have been riddled with irregularities ranging from payments for undelivered items to unlawful land acquisition and unjustified contract extensions.

According to the 2023/2024 audit by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, counties including Vihiga, Kericho, Nyandarua, Marsabit, Mandera, Uasin Gishu, Tana River, Tharaka Nithi, Kisumu, Kisii, Homa Bay, Nyamira, and Busia are yet to complete the residences, which were supposed to be finished by June 30, 2022.

The original instruction came in 2016, when the SRC directed all county assemblies to include the projects in their 2018/2019 budgets and cap the cost at Sh35 million per residence.

However, the audit reveals that not only have many counties failed to complete the projects, but some have doubled the cost or ignored procurement laws altogether.

Kericho County signed a Sh34.6 million contract in August 2019, initially expected to conclude by January 2020. As of June 2024, the contract had been extended six times without explanation.

“A physical inspection in September 2024 found internal finishes, plumbing, electrical work, fittings and painting – valued at Sh16.2 million - still pending,” the Auditor reported.

The project’s cost had ballooned by Sh11.4 million, and the county was found to have violated procurement rules requiring close monitoring of specialised construction works.

Vihiga County presents one of the most glaring examples of mismanagement. The Speaker’s residence, initially approved at Sh34.5 million, had consumed Sh73.4 million by mid-2024.

This included extravagant and unapproved spending such as Sh19.8 million for fencing, landscaping, and paving, Sh1.4 million for an external toilet, and Sh3.4 million for borehole drilling.

The Speaker, who occupies the residence, continued to receive housing allowances despite the lease agreement expiring on June 30, 2022.

“No explanation was provided as to why construction was incomplete, or why rental allowances were paid after the lease expired,” the report stated.

The Vihiga project was also found to be built on 1.15 hectares of privately acquired land without a title deed, in violation of SRC guidelines, which restrict the land size to one acre and require legal ownership.

The project remained incomplete past the June 30, 2023, revised deadline, with Sh6.77 million awarded for new borehole works in May 2024.

Interior furnishings worth Sh1.98 million had yet to be delivered, including portraits valued at Sh8,000.

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In Marsabit, the Speaker received Sh900,000 in rental allowances without any lease documentation provided to auditors.

Nyandarua built its residence on 1.7 hectares of private land and paid Sh19.8 million for a boundary wall.

Auditors flagged structural weaknesses and found the contractor had deserted the site.

In Tana River, a fresh contract worth Sh28.8 million was issued in November 2023 after a previous one was terminated in 2021.

However, by September 2024, only Sh5 million had been paid, and the project remained incomplete.

The initial contract, which cost taxpayers Sh14.3 million, lacked supporting documents, making the expenses unverifiable.

Tharaka Nithi’s project, expected to be completed by May 2023, was only 56.7 per cent done by June 2024.

The contract was extended twice without valid reasons. Uasin Gishu awarded a Sh34.9 million contract in June 2023 with a 72-week timeline.

By September 2024, it was only 40 per cent complete, although half the funds had already been paid.

Kisumu County’s Sh34.1 million project, which began in January 2021, was 95 per cent done before the contractor disappeared after receiving Sh32 million.

Homa Bay had paid Sh13.4 million out of a Sh32 million contract signed in March 2023, but only the first-floor slab had been built, and there was no title deed for the land.

Busia spent Sh2.85 million on landscaping and fencing in June 2024, then awarded a similar Sh5 million contract through direct procurement, without any justification for skipping competitive bidding.

In Bomet, a Sh34.5 million contract signed in January 2022 was only 48 per cent complete by mid-2024, and the site was abandoned.

Kisii County’s Sh33 million project remains unfinished beyond the August 2024 deadline, while Nyamira has paid Sh24.2 million out of Sh34.4 million, with 70 per cent of the work completed.

Mandera signed a Sh31.6 million contract in March 2023, with a completion deadline of March 2025, but only Sh9.5 million had been paid by June 2024.

Landscaping and water works had started, but no progress reports or certificates were available for audit.

The Auditor-General’s report paints a grim picture of stalled projects, lack of accountability, and misappropriation of public funds in a program that was supposed to standardise Speaker accommodation and reduce rental expenditure.

With some counties still paying allowances for non-existent leases, while others double the intended budget, the original intent of the project appears to have been lost.