The government lost at least Ksh870 million in the now failed Mwananchi Gas Project, Auditor General Edward Ouko has revealed.
According to an audit report released recently, taxpayers did not get value for money in the project, which was supposed to benefit the less privileged and eliminate or reduce the use of kerosene and charcoal.
“The project has not attained its intended purpose and further, value-for-money has not been obtained on expenditures totaling Ksh870,339,283 incurred on the project as at June 30, 2018. In addition, the status of the project remains unclear as its implementation appears to have stalled,” noted Ouko.
Read: DCI Investigating Ksh3 Billion Faulty Gas Cylinders Bought By The Government For The Poor
Of the total amount in question, Ksh481 million has already been paid out, with the rest set to be paid to suppliers of the project.
A total of ten suppliers were contracted to supply 357,355 6kg complete gas cylinders, but only 150,768 were supplied. Out of those supplied, only 66,103 were inspected, and undisclosed number distributed to consumers in two counties.
At one instance, one of the suppliers had 64 percent of the cylinders declared faulty. The supplier was to supply 148,898 cylinders but only delivered 23,873 at a cost of Ksh52.5 million, with 15,350 cylinders being declared faulty.
Read: Tribalism Hits Auditor General Edward Ouko’s Office
The faulty cylinders were estimated to cost at least Ksh30 million, which the auditor says was not secured.
The project now remains in limbo, with no hope of recovering lost money.
The project was set to be piloted in Machakos and Kajiado counties, where a 6kg cylinder would have cost Ksh2,000.
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