The National Assembly Departmental committee on Tourism and Wildlife on Tuesday, March 28, called upon the government to halt the construction of the Ronald Ngala Utalii College, one of the legacy projects of President Uhuru Kenyatta (Rtd) in Kilifi County.
MPs pressured the National Treasury to issue a clear roadmap for financing the project and the pending bills accrued from delayed payment.
Additionally, the committee discovered that the project had a Ksh1.5 billion deficit prompting more funds.
In a meeting with the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife through the Tourism Fund, it was decided that the construction will continue after a report from an ongoing investigation is tabled.
The Tourism Fund asked for Ksh3.3 billion to complete the construction. From the funds, Ksh1.2 billion will cover pending works, Ksh684 million for the project's operation, and the rest, Ksh1.5 billion, will clear pending bills.
On the other hand, the committee chairperson Kareke Mbiuki (Maara MP) directed the ministry not to allocate more funds for its completion and/or settle pending bills and penalties until the investigations are done.
"The national government must make up its mind on whether the project remains stalled and continue to accrue interest and penalties, or money is allocated to complete the project," the committee chairperson Kareke stated.
"For the time being, do not dare appropriate or allocate any amount to this project, not until, we have a serious discussion with President William Ruto's administration to agree on a way forward," he added.
However, Tourism Principal Secretary John Olultuaa disagreed with the decision asking it to reconsider the decision to stall the project since the money had already been spent and the only solution is to complete it.
The project aimed at admitting a minimum of 3,000 students and creating employment in the county, is only 77.74 per cent complete.
Initially, it was to be completed by 2018 before the end of Uhuru's tenure. The project on 60 acres in the Vipingo area aligns with vision 2030 which aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens.
Furthermore, it was budgeted to use Ksh4.9 billion but was now scheduled to consume at least Ksh11 billion shillings once completed.
