County governments are raising a red flag on the Ksh23.5 billion County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) projects, implying that taxpayers may not get value for money. 

The Senators are now questioning why the projects were forced down the throats of Governors without a needs assessment of each County. 

This is after Siaya Governor James Orengo lifted the lid, charging that the national government forced the project down their throats without their input. 

This development comes after Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said in her audit report of the multi-billion projects that taxpayers received little value for their money. 

Grim picture 

Appearing before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Moses Kajwang’ (Homa Bay), Orengo painted a grim picture of how they have been left with warehouses that no investor wants to take up. 

According to the Siaya County Chief, the national government failed to conduct any assessment on whether the industrial parks were necessary or served the purposes for which they were to be established. 

Orengo was categorical that the national government solely ran the show, designing not only the actual infrastructure but also how it was supposed to be done, a move he opines that has now left several counties with only a warehouse and nothing else. 

“The project was doomed to fail from the word go. Before any infrastructure is put on the ground, a conversation with the private sector should have been had about their needs. The private sector was not engaged, yet they wanted to invest in the projects,” said Orengo. 

Bare minimum 

Orengo charged that a study should have first been done with variations according to the needs of the different counties, a step which was ignored, adding that a design that meets the requirements of a county and its agricultural strong points should have been the bare minimum. 

Orengo further told the Moses Kajwang-led committee that counties, which were to foot Ksh11.75 billion at Ksh250 million each, were kept at bay, and even the private sector, which was supposed to invest in the project, was not involved. 

In addition, counties have only received Ksh53 million, at the beginning of the current financial year, out of the Ksh250 million the national government pledged, despite the county government having invested some Ksh123 million from their end. 

Orengo’s revelation irked the Senators, with Kajwang’ expressing fears that the Ksh23.5 billion project could turn up to be a white elephant project. 

“Are you saying that the views of the stakeholders were not factored in? Governor, are you suggesting that Ksh23.5 billion is likely to be another white elephant project in the counties?” posed Kajwang’. 

In his response, Orengo was categorical that if Siaya County, for instance would had been allowed to make a choice, he would have chosen to invest in the cotton industry. 

“We could be heading to white elephant projects. We are investing Ksh500 million in the industrial park. If we were to choose for ourselves, we would have spent Ksh300 million on a cotton ginnery with more value addition. It is unfortunate that now we are just building warehouses,” said Orengo. 

He went on: “In Siaya, we need a modern cotton and textile ginnery, but the industrial park is just a warehouse. We have talked to possible investors in the cotton industry, and they say this is just a warehouse and it does not measure up to our requirements. We have also tried leather and sugarcane industry players, and the response is the same.”