ASALs department in a spot after building hospital wards without toilets, buying overpriced jikos
The State Department for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) is under scrutiny for spending Sh7.3 million on 400 energy-saving jikos and constructing hospital wards without washrooms, rendering them unusable.
An audit report for the 2023/2024 financial year reveals that the jikos, procured under the donor-funded Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (KDRDIP), cost Sh16,480 to Sh19,000 each, despite similar models retailing locally for Sh3,500 to Sh5,000.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu raised concerns over the procurement, citing possible overpricing.
“Jikos of similar make and sizes were selling at the local market at the range of Sh3,500 to Sh5,000 per jiko inclusive of taxes while the project prices ranged from Sh16,480 to Sh19,000 per jiko, hence a total expenditure of Sh7,346,000 for the purchase of 400 jikos. In the circumstances, value for money for the expenditure of Sh7,346,000 could not be confirmed,” reads the report.
The procurement was conducted under KDRDIP, a donor-funded initiative supported by the International Development Association (IDA).
Hospital wards unusable
In the same project, Gathungu flagged the lack of sanitation facilities in newly constructed female, male and pediatric wards at Kakuma Sub-County Hospital. The construction, budgeted at Sh12.5 million, was awarded at Sh12,398,650 but was completed without washrooms, making the facilities unusable.
A physical inspection conducted on November 8, 2024, found that the hospital management had resorted to using the wards to store construction materials due to the oversight. The report noted that the omission resulted from stakeholders not being consulted before construction commenced.
“Enquiry from the CPMC established that the approved plans for the wards were not shared with stakeholders for their input, and the omission was only discovered at the tail end of the construction phase of the project,” Gathungu said.
Wards not branded
Additionally, the wards were not branded as a KDRDIP-funded project as required by agreements with the community project management committee (CPMC).
“In the absence of the necessary sanitary infrastructure, the wards cannot be used for the purpose intended. In the circumstances, value for money for the expenditure of Sh12,398,650 could not be confirmed,” reads the report.
The findings have raised concerns over accountability in public expenditure, with calls for a review of procurement practices and oversight mechanisms in government-funded projects.
Top Stories Today
