A multi-million-shilling project meant to house the Speaker of the Tana River County Assembly has stalled once again, despite millions of shillings already spent, according to the latest report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG).

The project tender number TRCA/PROC/MW/OT/01/2023-2024 valued at Ksh28.844,540 was awarded in November 2023 and was supposed to be completed within six months, by May 2024.

But when auditors visited the site in September 2024, they found only the foundation and substructure works done.

“The contract period had lapsed, and there was no evidence that an extension had been sought or approved,” the audit report notes.

By the time of the audit, the contractor had been paid Ksh4.9 million as the first instalment, leaving the bulk of the work and payments pending.

This is not the first time the project has faced problems. The Speaker’s residence was initially launched in April 2020 under a Ksh28 million contract, which was terminated in May 2021 after the county paid the first contractor Ksh9.3 million.

However, the Auditor General says the county did not provide a valuation report to show what work had been completed before termination.

In total, about Ksh14.3 million has already been spent on the project over two separate contracts — yet the house remains incomplete.

The audit questions whether taxpayers have received value for the money so far spent and points to weak contract management within the county government.

Residents and local leaders have in the past expressed frustration over delayed and abandoned projects in Tana River, many of which continue to consume millions without delivering results.

The Speaker’s residence now joins a growing list of stalled county projects that have drawn the attention of the Auditor General and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

By Abdulaziz Nameka