After swallowing Sh9 billion, dams yet to yield water

The construction of three key dams valued at more than Sh9 billion has been mismanaged, largely due to faulty design, the government has admitted.

Water Secretary James Lopoyetum said the ministry is in the process of finding alternative ways of completing Badasa, Chemususu and Umaa dams whose construction costs have shot up from Sh7.3 billion to Sh9 billion since 2009 when construction begun under then Water Minister Charity Ngilu.

Mr Lopoyetum said there was a problem with the way the projects were designed which has resulted in some of them stalling.

“When they were starting construction of these projects, they encountered issues which were technical in nature. The design of the projects may not have given all the answers,” he said.

The projects fall under the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC), a parastatal in the ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.

Construction on Badasa dam in Marsabit County and Umaa dam in Kitui County has stalled, while work at Chemususu dam in Koibatek has overshot a projected deadline of 36 months.

The projects have been beset by allegations of corruption since the outset, claims that were vehemently denied by top ministry officials.

Mr Lopoyetum said design problems did not justify the huge cost variations that plague the projects. He said the ministry was working to ensure that the works proceeded as earlier planned.

“The people who were to benefit from the water dams should not be allowed to suffer. One of our tasks is to resolve all outstanding issues so that they can benefit. I want to restart the process where construction has stalled.”

Costs doubled

The cost of some projects has more than doubled. For instance, the NWCPC varied the cost of Badasa Dam by an additional Sh1.98 billion from Sh1.7 billion at tendering in 2009, allegedly because of design flaws.

This variation contravenes public procurement regulations which state that costs can only be increased by a maximum of 15 per cent after which the project must be subjected to a fresh tendering process.

On Saturday, Mohammed Chute, the chairman of Midroc Drilling Company, which was contracted to build the Badasa dam, said they are open to scrutiny by all agencies of government.

“We have nothing to hide. If Kenyans and the people of Marsabit want to know the truth, let a team of independent engineers and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission officials inspect the project,” Mr Chute said.

According to minutes of the NWCPC, the parastatal is locked in arbitration with the contractor of Umaa Dam, Draft & Develop Engineers, because of inflated costs. The projected budget for Umaa dam was Sh824 million. However, by the time the two parties disagreed, the cost had increased by Sh600 million.

The minutes from a meeting held in October last year also show that works at Chemususu Dam, which was to be built at a cost of Sh4.8 billion by Frabo and Company, had overshot the budget by Sh600 million.