At least Ksh533 Million from the National Youth Service (NYS) was spent on construction of Karen and Ngong Road furniture markets, which do not exist, according to the auditor general Edward Ouko.
In a recent report, Ouko says that the money was used to buy materials for construction of the markets, but operations have since stalled for two years following a legal claim on the land.
For the Karen Market, the materials were to cost Ksh53.5 million while that of Ngong Road Market were to cost Ksh143 million amounting to Ksh196.5 million. The balance of Ksh336.5 million has not been explained, according to Ouko.
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“It was not possible to determine how the quantity of materials required was arrived at and if the materials procured and received were of the right quantity and met specifications as per the approved designs and engineer’s estimates,” the reports reads in part.
“Further, no site handing over minutes have been provided to show that management had conducted due diligence and secured the land before committing public resources and exposing the public to loss of funds.
‘’As a result, it is not possible to confirm that public funds were applied lawfully and in an effective way as required under Article 229(6) of the Constitution of Kenya and that Article 232(1)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya was applied as required under the law.”
Read: Gov’t Unable To Trace Sh250 Million Acquired By The Ngiritas From The NYS Saga
As of January 2019, materials worth Ksh507 million lay at the NYS headquarters yard in Ruaraka.
A total of 602 stalls were to be constructed, translating to cost per stall of Ksh906,132 excluding labour and supervision costs as compared to estimate all inclusive cost per stall of Ksh264,678 and Ksh395,887 for Karen and Ngong road markets respectively.
“In view of the foregoing, the propriety of the expenditure of Sh532,950,990 on the construction of both Ngong Road and Karen markets could not be ascertained,” said Ouko.
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