The Chief Justice David Maraga-headed Judiciary is on the spot over expenditures on infrastructure across the country.
Auditor General Edward Ouko, in a recent report, raised concerns over the transfer of funds in payments to contractors for installed projects.
In the report tabled before Parliament for the year ended June 30, 2017, Ouko fears the country might not have gotten value for the money spent on the projects given some of the contractors were paid for undone work.
[caption caption="Auditor-general Edward Ouko (PHOTO/COURTESY)"]
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Ouko, in his report on the Nakuru Law Court, queried that as at June 2017, “it was not clear why payments exceeded the value of work done. Also, no explanation was provided on why the project stalled the contract period having expired on August 18, 2017".
Construction works at the Law Court had barely surpassed 65 percent of the project but Ouko found that the contractor had already been paid Sh274, 402,054, representing 79 percent of the total cost.
The report focuses on 55 projects that the Judiciary has been undertaking, 27 of them being funded by the World Bank.
Other projects in the query include the Hamisi Law Court where the project is 85 percent complete, but the Judiciary has already paid 95 percent of the total cost.
The report also details that the Siaya Court project has also stalled and the management could not provide justification for the delays.
The Narok Law Courts, Ouko warns, may cost more than allocated after the management failed to approve sub-contracting works for mechanical and electrical works.
There are concerns over cases of overpayments identified by the auditor general.
In a recent interview, CJ Maraga had noted that the funding for the projects was about Kshs11 Billion, and the work done was already "out there for everyone to see."
Maraga, however, feared that the projects would remain white elephants given the World Bank halted its funding and the huge slash on the Judiciary's budget for infrastructure.
Previously, the Judiciary has been receiving at least Kshs2.5 Billion for infrastructure but this has been reduced to Ksh50 Million, an allocation Maraga notes stands "grossly inadequate."
[caption caption="The Nakuru Law Courts is one of the projects in the query (PHOTO/COURTESY)"]
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