The State Department for Foreign Affairs, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is facing scrutiny following revelations that it spent over Ksh500 million on constructing a dilapidated chancery building and the High Commissioner's residency in Pakistan.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in the 2022/2024 National Government report, disclosed that the ministry allocated Ksh545.8 million for these two projects, which remain uninhabitable.
According to the report, Gathungu highlighted that initially, the ministry disbursed Ksh437.9 million to the contractor for the construction of the chancery building and the high commissioner's residence. However, the contractor abandoned the projects before completion.
The Ministry later hired another contractor and paid Ksh108.3 million. The project was complete but the Auditor General noted that it was in poor condition.
It had inadequate drainage, incomplete works on lifts, cracked walls and poor workmanship.
"The Chancery and High Commissioner’s residence were in poor condition due to the following defects; inadequate drainage, incomplete works on lifts, cracked walls and poor workmanship. Further, the contractors did not attend to the items in the snags list," read part of the report.
According to the Auditor General report, the department was in the process of hiring a new contractor to fix the construction at the two projects but the agreement was not concluded as of November 2023.
In addition to the aforementioned projects, the ministry faced further scrutiny for its lack of ownership documents regarding the Kinshasa chancery.
Furthermore, the Auditor General highlighted the delayed purchase of the chancery in London. According to the documents, the lease for the land expired in October 2021.
The ministry disbursed Ksh1.7 billion in the financial years, 2021/22 and 2022/23 to make the purchase but the process was halted.
Further, Gathungu questioned the renovation of the high commissioner and deputy commissioner's residence in London, and the non-utilisation of the ambassador's residence in Pretoria, South Africa.
According to the report, the ministry spent Ksh765 million in 2015 for the construction of the ambassador's residence and staff house in Pretoria. However, as of August 2023, the ambassador's residence remained vacant since it was yet to be furnished.
