HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1025189,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1025189/?format=api",
"text_counter": 236,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Maara, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kareke Mbiuki",
"speaker": {
"id": 79,
"legal_name": "Japhet M. Kareke Mbiuki",
"slug": "japhet-kareke-mbiuki"
},
"content": "in place to ensure that the Last Mile Connectivity was achieved. A case to illustrate this problem is Chemususu Dam in Baringo County, which was completed in the year 2014 and it took five years to have the Last Mile Connectivity initiated. The Committee also observed that the National Treasury was engaging foreign private commercial banks to borrow money to finance the projects. This is a matter of great concern, considering that these loans came with high interest rates, costly insurance requirement, disclosed negotiation fees and other hidden costs. The resultant effect is that these loans were more expensive than the usual conventional loans, which are usually negotiated with church and private institutions that are likely to charge low rates, thereby making the loan facilities very exorbitant. It was also noted that the procurement process and the construction of most of these dams was carried out under the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing Scheme (EPCF) model. In this financial model, the contractor is not only responsible for engineering, procuring and constructing the project, but was also responsible for financing it. The contractor does all the preliminary works of the geotechnical investigation, interpretation, final designs and, eventually, the actual construction of the dam. As a matter of fact, this model is more or less single sourcing and, therefore, may be prone to abuse and value for money as it may not be effectively realised. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, it was further observed that the Ministry had constructed various dams such as Chemususu Dam, Kiserian Dam and Maruba Dam through Government of Kenya (GoK) funding. This indicated that with proper planning, siting, management and monitoring, project implemented through local funding could be more cost effective than through external borrowing. There is, therefore, need for Government to fund its projects from feasibility study, initial design, land acquisition process and final designs, until project implementation phase through exchequer funding. The Committee also noted that there was need for proper public participation and engagement before the implementation of dam projects so as to ensure that the needs of the local communities are factored in at the project implementation stage. It was further observed that Itare Dam has stalled as the project contractor CMC Di Ravenna had filed for bankruptcy proceedings in Italy. Consequently, there was equipment that included bulldozers and excavators which is lying idle at the site and is worth more than Kshs1 billion. In addition, other equipment are rotting on site. All these plant and equipment were part of what was purchased using money advanced to the contractor by the Government of Kenya. In the event that this equipment is left in disuse, it would be a direct loss of public funds. The Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation together with the National Treasury engaged the Itare Dam contractor to ensure that the project implementation was not affected by the bankruptcy proceeding in Italy. It was also observed that the contractor had performance board and advance payment guarantees that were almost expiring. Therefore, there was need to review the contract to ensure that the project implementation of Itare Dam which is in Nakuru County continues to completion. The Committee further observed that the Government needed to come up with an inter- ministerial approach at the design stage of the project so as to reduce the delays resulting from wayleave at the implementation stage. Having engaged various stakeholders and visited various dams construction sites, the Committee consequently recommends that the Government should, as a matter of priority, first and foremost acquire land for the construction of dams long before the project implementation and before making any financial commitment with donors and other development partners to avoid huge costs that accompany delays in the implementation stage. We realised that the Government has gone ahead to sign contracts with the various contractors yet it The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}