The Senate Finance and Budget committee has started investigating the dispute over Uasin Gishu’s planned purchase of a National Bank of Kenya (NBK) building for office space. The Committee led by Nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga said they are on the ground to establish the truth of the issues raised by the petitioners who will know their fate within the next one month.
“The main agenda of the petition is the requisition of the NBK housing by the county government to expand space for their offices. We have gotten the sides of both the devolved unit and petitioners, we have looked at all the aspects of the matter, we are going to write a report and make a recommendation based on what we have gathered and move forward,” said Senator Nyamunga.
Procurement laws
The County Government in May mooted plans to buy the property in Eldoret at Sh 568m. MCAs, however, had questioned the plan after it emerged that the initial cost of Sh 568 million could have been inflated.
According to area Senator Prof Margaret Kamar, the intended amount to be used in the planned purchase is beyond what the Senate usually approves for a construction of a county headquarters. Senator Kamar insisted that the Senate will have to establish whether other options for office space were explored and if procurement laws were adhered to.
“The amount the county wants to use for the purchase of NBK is already beyond what the Senate allows for the construction of a headquarters. Given the alternatives available, it is clear that no feasibility study was carried out and there is no evidence of competitive sourcing/bidding which would have involved a bid for purchase by the County Government, but instead, there was only a single offer which casts doubts on how the offer was arrived at,” said Prof Kamar.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission also stopped the plan, saying it was hurriedly approved by the county assembly pending the outcome of the probe it launched into the contentious deal in May. Petitioners led by Kipkorir Menjo have said the Sh 568 million cannot be used to purchase a dilapidated building.
“We are hopeful that the Senate will get justice in this matter because that amount cannot be used to purchase a building of 1980,” said Mr Menjo.
