President Uhuru Kenyatta may have acted on his own after all when cancelling Sh21 billion Kimwarer dam project in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, it has emerged.
In September, a furious Uhuru announced the cancellation of the multi-billion project, a move that caught Rift Valley politicians off guard.
While appearing before Senate Legal Committee on Thursday, Infrastructure PS Paul Maringa said the committee did not recommend cancellation.
According to him, the committee recommended that the project is reevaluated so that it benefits its real value.
“We did not recommend any cancellation but said in our recommendation that there was a need for a comprehensive revalidation of the Kimwarer project,” he explained.
Uhuru, Maringa said, asked the committee to examine the two projects to prevent loss of public funds.
“We determined that there was a need for a technical review of the Kimwarer project," he said. "There was no feasibility study," he admitted.
Uhuru allowed construction of the neighbouring Arror dam project but slashed its cost from Sh28 billion to Sh15 billion.
Maringa added, “For Arror, we recommended that it progresses after we looked at what was viable and would cost less and continue. Arror was economically viable but overpriced.”
Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen demanded that the committee submit the report for further deliberations.
“People have mismanaged this country years back because their excuse was that they were acting on instructions from the President. Some were not true,” Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said.
Senator Samson Cherargei, who is the chair of the committee, said he will write to OP in 14 days to get the report to the house for the discussion.