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Kwale county government has been put on the spot over stalled projects worth more than Sh581 million and other procurement irregularities.

This even as the Senate County Public Accounts Committee put on the spot Governor Fatuma Achani and her predecessor, Salim Mvurya (now Mining Cabinet Secretary) for failing to settle more than 52 cases in court.

The Senate watchdog committee chaired by Homa Bay lawmaker Moses Kajwang’ took Achani to task over financial malpractices, including procurement irregularities and questioned a “suspicious” termination of contracts for the projects.

The revelations of the stalled projects and procurement irregularities are contained in Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s report for the financial year ending June 30, 2022.

The audit report shows that the projects include four stalled road works at the cost of Sh302.8 million, the construction of a governor’s residence at the cost of Sh149 million and a stalled construction of an Oncology centre worth Sh30 million, with some awarded through open tender.

Achani who was deputy governor under Mvurya, was at pains to explain why the projects were terminated almost at the same time and re-advertised with certain contractors preferred.

According to the audit report, the Kwale County government wasted public funds on the construction of the governor’s official residence and the residents had not realised value for money on the Sh118.79 million already spent on the project.

The project had been awarded in March 2018 at a contract sum of Sh149 million but as of November 2022, only roofing was complete.

Governor Achani said the project is 65 per cent complete but has been delayed by a tussle between the contractor and the county government.

“The contractor wanted to be paid for the duration he was not working, an amount we do not agree with and that is why we stopped him but he has taken us to court. The county is waiting for the conclusion of an ongoing arbitration process,” said Achani.

This is despite the Salaries and Remuneration Commission in May 2019 having set a ceiling of Sh45 million for the county government for the construction of governor’s residence.

However, Achani’s Chief Finance Officer Alex Onduko defended the project, saying they tendered for the construction of the residence in March 2018 before the onset of the SRC’s ceiling, adding that the county government is one of five counties to have been exempted from the ceiling put by the SRC.