Kiambu ends hospital construction contract
By Oliver Musembi, July 30, 2024The Kiambu County government has terminated a contract for the construction of Bibirioni Level 4 Hospital and revised the project cost saving Sh100 million.
Governor Kimani Wamatangi, while terminating the contract, scaled down the cost of the 200-bed facility in Limuru sub-county from Sh300 million to Sh200 million.
The governor said there was a five-year delay in the completion of the facility whose construction was commissioned by former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta in 2018 during former Governor Ferdinand Waititu’s administration and was scheduled to be completed in 2020.
“More than five years down the line, the project remains halfway done. The contractor demonstrated a total inability to finish the project,” stated Wamatangi.
He added that when he took over office in 2022, he cleared all the outstanding bills together with other contractors who were working on various hospital projects that had stalled, agreeing that they return to the site.
Sluggish work
“However, while those in other projects, notably Rukuma and Thogoto, resumed and continued with the works, the Bibirioni contractor continued with the sluggishness. As a result, the County government has already advertised the project afresh and the site is being taken over by a competent contractor,” he added.
The Bibirioni Level 4 facility is one of the health projects flagged in a report by the 2022/23 Auditor General that exposed how public hospital projects in Kiambu have stalled for years despite cumulatively gobbling up over Sh 800 million.
In an indictment of former Kiambu County administrations, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu raised concerns about the status of Bibirioni Level 4 Hospital, Tigoni Hospital, Lari Level 4 Hospital, and the Ruiru Level 4 Hospital Central Commodity Stores, some of which were initiated by the first Governor William Kabogo in 2015.
For instance, the report showed the James Nyoro-led regime, failed to complete the hospital projects within their timelines despite receiving hundreds of millions of shillings for their completion. Regarding the Bibirioni Level 4 Hospital, the Auditor General noted that the Sh285 million contract for its construction was awarded on April 9, 2018, with an expected completion date of 2020.