President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Ksh 3 billion Mwananchi Gas Project suffered a huge setback after faulty cylinders were distributed to the consumers.
It was revealed that substandard Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) cylinders were supplied to the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOK) by dishonest contractors.
A report by NOK stated that 67,251 out of 353,000 cylinders supplied by four local firms were rejected after it was discovered they had faulty valves that were a danger to the users.
Funding worth Ksh2 billion was allocated to the project in this year’s budget which later increased to Ksh3 billion after the National Treasury offered the petroleum ministry an extra Ksh1 billion.
The report further highlighted that the tender awarded for the project was worth Ksh 700 million.
The Ministry of Energy was set to purchase one million new cylinders after the project successfully kicked off in Machakos and Kajiado counties.
The State oil marketer’s records indicated that a local firm named Allied East Africa limited supplied a total of 148,750 cylinders where 47,534 were rejected for being defective.
Surge Energy supplied 104,125 cylinders with 11,823 considered faulty.
Accurate Power Systems provided 44,625 where 7,894 were flawed.
Only 59,500 cylinders supplied by Metal Mate were approved.
The government project was initiated with the aim of providing poor families with 6kg cooking gas cylinders and burners at a lowered price of Ksh 2000.
Provision of the gas was set to reduce dependence on kerosene and charcoal which were considered a danger to the environment.
