State on the spot over Ksh6.6B toilet fraud 

By , July 7, 2025

The State Department for Basic Education is in a spot over massive irregularities in the construction of classrooms, laboratories and sanitation facilities in 30 counties, amounting to Ksh6.6 billion.  

The projects include the construction of 1,506 classrooms, 863 laboratories and 1,932 sanitation facilities. 

In her report for the financial year 2023/2024, Gathungu disclosed that a review of records showed that the Management signed agreements on April 26, 2022, with 25 contractors but a number of anomalies were note including having unsupported revision of contract durations, projects not commencing on time, delays in completion of some of the projects, stalled Construction Projects and Poor Workmanship and Incomplete Works. 

She noted that although a technical committee of three members was constituted to recommend payments for 25 contractors undertaking the exercise, the user department, specifically the schools, and the procurement function was not represented in the committee. 

Provisions of contract 

Further, she said that there were no minutes of Committee meetings and field inspection reports in support of payments and instead the committee instead relied on the recommendations of the consultants to confirm the scope of works done in recommending the payments to the contractors which was contrary to the provision of Regulation 139(3) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Regulations, 2020 provides that payments shall only be made after an invoice or fee note is accurately raised and submitted in accordance with the provisions of the contract. 

Reads the report: “In the circumstances, value for money may not have been realised from expenditure on the construction contracts valued at Ksh6,655,812,555 while Management was in breach of the law.” 

With regards to projects not commenced, the report says that the Projects Status and Progress Report indicated that a total of 30 classrooms, 40 laboratories, four water projects and 471 sanitation blocks valued at Ksh573.9 million had not been commenced as of June 30, 2024, yet no explanations were provided for the delay in commencement of the works. 

In addition, the report says that liquidated damages had not been levied by the employer as provisioned under Clause 47.1 of the Project Conditions of Contract (PCC) for the delayed commencement. 

Reads the report: “Further, termination proceedings had not been commenced despite the contractor having abandoned the work for a period exceeding twenty-eight (28) days without evidence of authorization by the Project Manager.” 

Status report 

On delays in the completion of the projects, Gathungu revealed that the Status and Progress Report dated July 16, 2024, indicated that as at year-end, an amount of Ksh4.8 billion or 72 per cent of the total contract sum being the value of works certified, claimed and paid while the actual completed work stood at 77 per cent. 

This was indicative of 23 per cent of the work not done as of June 30, 2024. 

Further, the report says that advance payments amounting to Ksh475,080,581 had been recovered from the original advanced sum of Ksh658,683,601 but the recovery of advance payments of Ksh119,914,993 for five contracts in five counties with certified works exceeding 90 per cent which is the threshold for full recovery of the advances amount stood at Ksh101,588,718 resulting in an under-recovery of Ksh18,326,275. 

With regards to stalled projects, Gathungu said that the Projects Status and Progress Report indicates 267 Projects in three Counties with a contract sum of Ksh344.2 million that have stalled. 

The project’s distribution included 67 in Tana River County, 186 in Kwale County and 14 in Taita/Taveta County (14). 

Reads the report: “However, no explanation was provided for the stalled projects. Further, no evidence of liquidated damages being claimed and paid by the contractors was provided for audit. In addition, the performance bonds had expired and exposed the Project to loss of funds.”
 

On poor Workmanship and Incomplete Works, the report says that physical verification undertaken in the month of September 2024 in Homa Bay and Baringo counties revealed a number of anomalies, as some of the projects were poorly done. 

For instance, the report says that a review of works done on the construction of laboratories for God Bura and Tonga Boys Secondary Schools in Homa Bay revealed cracked and peeling off of the plastered floors and the gas and water system had not been connected to the laboratories yet no action had been taken despite the defects being noted by the school administration and the same reported to the contractors. 

Physically challenged 

The laboratory at God Bura Secondary School, the report adds, lacked an access ramp for the physically challenged students, and the desks, chairs and laboratory chairs supplied were of substandard quality as they had protruding nails and were rejected by the school, while wooden furniture had splinters and grains. 

Reads the report: “Defects noted by the Schools and reported to the contractors had not been rectified.” 

In the case of Marigat Integrated Day Secondary School and Marigat Boarding Primary School in Baringo that benefited from contracts for the construction of laboratory and sanitation facilities at the cost of Ksh3,000,000 and Ksh900,000 respectively, the report says that for the Secondary School, the contractor was not on site as at the time of audit verification. 

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