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Narok Governor Patrick ole Ntutu is on the spot for spending billions of shillings on stalled and abandoned projects in the past year.

This even as the Controller of Budget (CoB) Margaret Nyakang’o revealed that the county government recorded the highest development expenditure in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

According to the report, Narok splashed Sh1.3 billion, representing 30 per cent of their annual development budget, between July and September 2023 alone.

However, an oversight tour across the country laid bare the extent of shoddy workmanship and behind schedule projects raising questions on whether residents got value for money in the process and in the period under review.

For instance, at Sakutiek Health Centre in Narok North constituency, serving a population of 10,000, has only three clinical officers who also double as maternity officials.

The facility lacks gloves for its maternity services with patients forced to buy while there is no reliable electricity at the maternity wing with the power backup taken away during renovations.

The maternity is also in deplorable state as the planned renovations did not proceed apart from painting of the walls and changing the roofs.

“Services have now stopped at the maternity during power outages with medics having to use touches. Critical equipment like the steriliser and the resuscitator have broken down. If not for donor support, this hospital would be grounded,” said an officer at the hospital who sought anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“We made a request for pharmaceuticals worth Sh300,000 but received medicine worth only Sh100,000 although records show we received drugs worth the former amount,” added the medic.

The devolved unit had set aside Sh4 million for renovation but only few things have been done. The health centre often flooding when it rains.

In another project at Nchurra Dispensary, the contractor has not been seen on site for the past seven months.

The residents said the contractor was at the site for just a month before leaving saying he was giving the structural work he had done time to cure.

Oversight tour

“Narok has used more development money with nothing to show for it. We want to ensure all the projects are completed.

I will make sure the governor is accountable by explaining why most of the projects are either incomplete or the contractors have left site,” said area senator Ledama ole Kina while spearheading the oversight tour.

Continuing the ugly trend, the county government spent Sh3.5 million on a proposed dispensary at Entinki Primary School but the building is in deplorable state with the project stalled, after the contractor abandoned the site.

Senator Kina said the idea was to have a hospital there to save residents from walking long distances with patients because the next health centre at Sakutiek, is more than 10km away but that has not been achieved. “The contractors have pleaded with us not to expose them because they are afraid they will not be paid if the truth comes out,” he said.

The contractors said they have not been paid even after raising their certificates leading to many abandoning the projects.

In Mara ward for instance, a pre-primary school classroom collapsed just after completion due to poor workmanship with the county having paid Sh1.4 million to the contractor.

According to Mara ward rep Chepkwony Kipng’eno, the roof of the building been blown away by wind, pointing that the contractor could have done shoddy job.

In Melelo ward, Narok West, Ntutu’s administration had spent Sh18 million on the Rongena-Motony Road which is impassable despite the contractor having been paid most of the monies for the 6km stretch.

Health officer

In Melili ward, Narok North, a Sh4 million Enaibor-ajijik hospital has been abandoned despite the contractor having been paid for two certificates raised.

The contractor, Divine Construction Ltd has been paid Sh1 million but has not been at the site in the last two months. Bees are camping in some rooms at the hospital, which were to be renovated.

During the visit, there was no single health officer at the facility with a Health official busy attending to his farm nearby.

“I am at my farm because there is no medicine here. Patients visit but there is little we can do. The last time the contractor was here was in July last year. Four men and a lady sharing a two-bedroomed house. There is no reliable water while the toilets are broken,” said the officer.