Kisumu cancels 36 road contracts over long delays

Residents of Kisumu are set to wait longer for better roads after the county government revoked 36 contracts and threatened to blacklist 105 contractors, citing delays.

The tenders were revoked after contractors failed to begin civil works six months after commissioning.

The directive affects Jaman Contractors Ltd, Benah General Contractors, Kaju Construction and Trading Company Ltd, Lwore Enterprise, Chakra Company Ltd and Mwangaza Civil Works Company Ltd, among others.

Roads and Planning executive Vincent K’Odera said only 120 out of 270 projects rolled out last year have been completed.

He said the 105 contractors will not get more works until their projects are completed.

“All contractors who have done less than 80 per cent of the scope of work have been given 21-days notice to complete pending works, failure to which the contracts will be cancelled,” said Mr K’Odera.

“We have ongoing projects that have stalled since they were awarded to unscrupulous contractors. We will blacklist them. Let them not take this as a mere threat but a warning,” he said.

Investors have been piling pressure on the county government to complete major infrastructure projects that have slowed the growth of commerce in Kenya’s third largest town.

Mr K’Odera said the county had started a number of projects, including upgrading all-weather roads, in efforts to boost trade, and would not agree to be frustrated by contractors doing shoddy work.

He revealed that some sections of completed roads had been washed away while others lack basic drainage canals, raising questions on the capacity of the contractors.

Mr K’Odera said the county lacks capacity to vet genuine contractors, resulting to wastage of public funds as cowboy contractors take advantage of the lack of assessors.

“In the procurement department, you can hardly get a single engineer. This is worrying as local politics over who should get what position have also come into play.”

County secretary Humphrey Nakitare said the contracts, which mainly involve construction of basic infrastructure like classrooms and toilets in schools, hospital extensions and improvement of access roads, had delayed.

“In some instances you find that six months after the tender was issued, not a single thing has been done,” Mr Nakitare said.

He said the county would be ruthless in dealing with contractors who fail to follow set rules.

“The county will not allow laxity among contractors and the public should be on the lookout so that we do not go to an extent of wasting money,” he said
According to the government, construction firms must have a certificate of compliance from the Registrar of Companies confirming they are qualified contractors before they undertake any project.

The county government is urging the National Construction Authority to enact stringent measures so that only qualified firms are licensed.