A supplier working on the Ksh100 million potato storage facility in Nyandarua County is facing punishment after an impromptu inspection visit by President Uhuru Kenyatta's aides.
The Cabinet's Chief Administrative Secretary, Lawrence Karanja, found that the construction of the factory had stalled after a supplier delayed the provision of critical equipment.
Karanja announced that punitive action against a supplier who was delaying the implementation of the ambitious government project in Nyandarua County.
The Ksh100 million Nyandarua potato and vegetable cold storage in Ol Kalou town was commissioned by President Kenyatta and was expected to start operating last year but construction has been marred with delays.
In an extensive development tour of Nyandarua County, the president launched the project alongside Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia on 31 January 2020.
It was an integral part of the Big Four Agenda's pillar on food security and was to be completed within a year from the day of its launch by the president.
“We are not going to allow such sabotage," the president's aide announced after the inspection tour.
Karanja noted that the delays in supplying machines for the project had seen the implementation fall behind schedule.
The government project is 85 percent complete and it is expected to be ready for use by mid-March this year.
County Executive Committee Member for Industrialization, Trade, Co-operatives, and Urban Development Raphael Njui noted that the completion of the project will cushion farmers from post-harvest losses.
Last year when launching the project, the President said that the cold storage facility would help cut out brokers from the potato business who have exploited farmers for a long time.
The Head of State observed that the storage facility would enable farmers to store their potatoes for up to six months, a move that would assist them to sell when prices were at their best.
The 20,000 metric ton storage facility occupies three acres of land and was one of the three cold storage facilities that the national government plans to set up.
