MPs have demanded that they be provided with a breakdown of expenditure amounting to Sh1.12 billion spent by the Office of the Deputy President during the 2023/2024 financial year when impeached Rigathi Gachagua was in office.

The MPs who sit in the departmental committee on Administration and Internal Security said they ought to know whether there was value for money for some of the projects that were initiated.

The sentiments by the MPs came after documents tabled before them show that of the Sh1.12 billion, Sh717.7 million was spent in the office of the Spouse of the Deputy President, Sh98.4 million on the refurbishment of buildings at Harambee Annex, Sh249.80 million on refurbishing of buildings at the Karen residence while Sh49.90 million was spent on the refurbishment of buildings of the former Provincial Commissioner’s office in Mombasa.

The total cost of the refurbishment of the three buildings, whose completion date is June 2027, comes to Sh1.25 billion.

The office is also expected to shed light on some Sh5 million that the office spent that had been earned from the disposal of identified obsolete stores.

“It’s not much, but of course it’s public funds. You do your calculations and then send the details to us in writing,” committee chairperson Gabriel Tongoyo, who is also Narok West MP, said.

Led by Dido Raso (Saku) and Francis Sigei (Sotik), the MPs told the officials from the Deputy President’s Office that they ought to shed light on what exactly has been done with regards to the refurbishment.

At the Mombasa office, they sought an explanation as to why the rate of completion is at 21 per cent yet by the time they visited the building last year it was at 50 per cent completion.

Not concluded

“Are you convinced that this committee, if we do an oversight visit to those areas, will actually be able to put our finger on it to verify that indeed there is value for money in these projects?” Raso asked.

The lawmakers sought answers on the day they met Principal Administration Secretary Moses Mbaruku and Director, Planning Ann Mwangi to shed light on how the office spent Sh4.7 billion that was allocated to it in the 2023/2024 financial year.

In her presentation before the committee Mwangi explained that out of the total budget done, they have been able to refurbish some areas and others are yet to be concluded.

In Harambee Annex, she said they are yet to renovate about 12 washrooms, they are yet to complete redesigning and furnishing of the second-floor auditorium as well as upgrade and renovate the third and fourth floor.

The other pending works include replacing corridors, changing tiles that have started cracking, renovating the seven kitchenettes, remodelling of the basement areas, repainting and lighting of the building, drilling and equipping of borehole, repairing and replacement of water pumps for the fountain, upgrading of the CCTV and access controls, improving visitors’ management, partitioning of offices, replacement of water tanks and upgrading of the parking lot.

“So that is basically part of the scope of the Harambee Annex, totalling to 450.4 million,” she said.
Meanwhile, regarding the fate of the staff who are attached to the said offices, she said that the officers are currently being cleared as their contracts were tied to the tenure of their bosses.