President Uhuru Kenyatta was last week left angry and furious over the Kimwarer multi-purpose dam project, which had already cost taxpayers Sh22 billion.
Insiders claim that a furious Uhuru, felt cheated following the technical report that expose several irregularities over the project that has seen politicians trade barbs.
While he has since cancelled it, Uhuru is said to have wondered why state officials opted to use a 28-year-old feasibility study for the construction of the dam.
“Although the Kimwarer dam design was done in detail in 1991, the fact that no other consultant review has since been undertaken does not give the team the confidence that this project can be progressed without going through a detailed re-validation,” the report handed to the President says.
“The tectonic fault cutting across the proposed Kimwarer dam has not been investigated to establish its effect on the structural integrity of the reservoir.”
But the technical reassessment of the project has found that a smaller dam of 55 metres would have been built to meet similar needs for the area and for only $168 million (Sh16.8 billion).
The President was also bothered with exaggerated compensation which was estimated at billions, further calling for immediate cancellation.
What surprised the technical team was that Sh7.1 billion ($71 million) was set aside for “preliminaries” and which left only Sh18.8 billion as the amount provided in the Bill of Quantities for the actual construction of the dam.
According to the technical team, putting more money into preliminaries “resulted in under provision of key components of the dam and, in particular, the spillway, which was priced at Sh290 million as opposed to an estimated cost of Sh2.6 billion”.
“If Kimwarer is undertaken by another contractor and the preliminary and general items are scaled down to realistic costs and also the consultancy services and professional fees excluded, the dam is expected to cost Sh17.2 billion,” says the report.
The scandal has seen top government officials arrested and charged in court. Top among them include former Treasury CS Henry Rotich and his PS Kamau Thugge.
For the neighbouring Arror dam, Uhuru okayed the recommendation by the technical committee under Prof Paul Maringa to reduce the cost to Sh13 billion from the initial Sh28 billion.