The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has raised concerns over the procurement of 400 energy-saving jikos by the State Department for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and Regional Development at a total cost of Ksh7.3 million, citing potential overpricing.
According to the latest audit report for the 2023/2024 financial year, similar jikos of the same make and size were available in the local market priced between Ksh3,500 and Ksh5,000, including taxes.
However, the State Department purchased these jikos at prices ranging from Ksh16,480 to Ksh19,000 per unit.
“Jikos of similar make and sizes were selling at the local market at the range of Ksh3,500 to Ksh5,000 per jiko inclusive of taxes while the project prices ranged from Ksh16,480 to Ksh19,000 per jiko, hence a total expenditure of Ksh7,346,000 for the purchase of 400 jikos. In the circumstances, value for money for the expenditure of Ksh7,346,000 could not be confirmed,” the report stated.
The procurement was conducted under the Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (KDRDIP), a donor-funded initiative supported by the International Development Association (IDA).
Additional discrepancies
In the same project, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu highlighted the lack of sanitation facilities in newly constructed female, male, and pediatric wards at Kakuma Sub-County Hospital.
The construction, which had a budget of Ksh12.5 million, was awarded at Ksh12,398,650 but was completed without any washrooms, rendering the wards unusable.
A physical inspection conducted on November 8, 2024, revealed that the hospital management had resorted to using the wards to store construction materials due to the omission.
The Auditor General’s report noted that the washrooms were not included in the original design, and stakeholders were not consulted before construction commenced.
“Enquiry from the CPMC established that the approved plans for the wards were not shared with stakeholders for their input, and the omission was only discovered at the tail end of the construction phase of the project,” the report stated.
Furthermore, the wards were not branded as a KDRDIP Project-funded initiative as required by the agreements with the Community Project Management Committee (CPMC).
“In the absence of the necessary sanitary infrastructure, the wards cannot be used for the purpose intended. In the circumstances, value for money for the expenditure of Kshs.12,398,650 could not be confirmed,” the report concluded.
