A Sh69.9m construction project at Luanda Technical and Vocational College in Vihiga county has come under scrutiny after MPs raised concerns over delays and what they described as poor project management.
The project, which includes workshops, classrooms and offices, was due to be completed in March 2024.
But an Auditor-General’s report for the 2023/24 financial year found that the works were only 55% complete and 32 weeks behind schedule as at 30 June 2024.
The project has since been extended to 19 November 2026. Officials told the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education that construction was now about 85% complete.
However, MPs were told that meaningful work had stopped at the site, with the contractor, Capital Icon Construction Limited, seeking an additional Sh6m, citing rising costs.
Project Implementation Committee chairman Walter Obwogo said the contractor had been issued with a notice of default on 20 August and instructed to resume work.
“Meaningful activity on site appears to have stopped,” Mr Obwogo told the committee.
The contractor has also submitted a payment claim of Sh7.9m for work it says it has completed.
But the project team assessed the value of the work at about Sh747,000, prompting questions from MPs over the management of the contract.
Luanda MP Dick Maungu, who chairs the committee, questioned why the project had remained incomplete despite funds being available.
“This is not about money. It is about project management,” Maungu said. He said students were being forced to study in inadequate facilities while the construction remained unfinished.
“I can confirm that the students in Luanda are learning under a tree and in a primary school class. They have money in the account. The management has failed to deliver,” he said.
Maungu said public money should result in completed projects and better services for citizens.
“The government money should not just die in an account. That money is meant for a purpose,” he said.
The committee asked the project team to provide a clear plan for completing the works.
The MPs also questioned why the contractor had not been terminated after repeated delays.
Kiminini MP Maurice Kakai Bissau warned that weak contract management could expose the government to further losses.
“If you are following the articles of the contract, they will not even dare come back for variation,” Bissau said.
Bomachoge Chache MP Alpha Miruka proposed giving the contractor until 30 November to finish the project, after which the contract could be allowed to lapse and a new procurement process started.
Maungu, however, appeared reluctant to grant another extension, saying the project had already gone well beyond its original completion date.
The project’s mentor institution, Sigalagala National Polytechnic, defended its handling of payments.
Chief principal Evans Bosire said the contractor had previously received about Sh5m but had not made the expected progress.
“He wants to tell me to pay him around Sh8 million for work he has not done. For me, I cannot allow the government to lose money,” Bosire said.
He said payments were based on measurements of completed work and that the institution would not pay for work that had not been verified.
“We ensure that we measure the work done, and that’s the only money we pay. Extras we don’t,” he said.
Sigalagala National Polytechnic is mentoring Luanda Technical and Vocational College on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
Bosire said the institution’s role included ensuring that construction complied with legal and procurement requirements.
“We follow the law to the letter. I don’t want the government to lose a single cent in a wrong way,” he said.
But the project’s architect, Anthony Ekajul of the Public Works Department, warned that terminating the contract could lead to further delays.
“Termination is a process. We might end up another three years before we get back to the project,” Ekajul told MPs.
He proposed continued engagement with the contractor while ensuring that payments were linked to verified work.
Some MPs said retaining an underperforming contractor could ultimately cost the government more than terminating the contract.
Kilome MP Thaddeus Nzambia said some contractors completed most of the structural work before abandoning projects and seeking additional payments.
He said project managers needed to intervene early when it became clear that a contractor was unlikely to complete a project.
Kasipul MP Boyd Were said keeping money in the project account would not help students if construction remained stalled.
“The money may be safe, but if the project stalls for two or three years, at the end of the day we are lost,” he said.
The committee directed the project team to explain how it would compel the contractor to resume work and provide a clear plan for completing the facility.
Maungu said the committee would continue monitoring the project, stressing that government-funded projects should deliver value for money.
The dispute comes more than two years after the facility was originally scheduled for completion, leaving students and the local community waiting for the promised facilities.
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