-
Members of Parliament have called for an audit on the Ksh87 billion Nairobi Expressway contract even as they outlined four areas to be investigated.
Led by the Leader of the Majority Party in the National Assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah, the legislators indicated on Thursday, December 8, that the contract was shrouded with secrecy.
Ichung’wah called on relevant committees to summon the operator – Moja Expressway- to detail how much they were making daily.
In addition to that, the Leader of the Majority also demanded to know why motorists could not make payments using mobile money.
National Assembly leader of the majority Kimani Ichung’wah on November 22, 2022
File
He added that the Transport and Finance committee also needed to establish whether the contractor was paying taxes for the money collected since the start of operations earlier in the year.
“We were told that there would be no public funds used in this project but details coming out of the level of public investment are astonishing to Kenyans.
“For the hustler fund, you can track everything; but for the expressway contract, they cannot even allow us to track how many vehicles are using the highway. It leaves a lot to be desired,” he stated.
Additionally, the legislators called on the committees to scrutinise the tax exemption that was extended to the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) by the previous administration.
In regard to the rehabilitation of the Mombasa road, Ichung’wah noted that the initial plan was to have the contractor rehabilitate the road.
However, he revealed that the clause was removed from the contract at the last minute.
“A week after the elections, someone was pushing the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to award a Ksh9 billion tender to the contractor without following proper channels.
“We must get to the bottom of it,” he informed parliamentarians during a special sitting of the House.
According to KeNHA, Mombasa road rehabilitation is set to be completed before January 1, 2023.
The Nairobi Expressway was constructed through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and was one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy projects.
The 27-kilometre road was open to the public on May 14, 2022.
Photo collage between workers laying the road and aerial view of Nairobi Expressway.
File
