A section of contractors constructing Competence Based Curriculum Classrooms in Lugari Sub-County have requested partial payment of their money from the Ministry of Education so that they can complete their remaining work.
In letters submitted to the Sub-County CBC implementation committee, the contractors said they cannot accomplish the remaining work because they have exhausted their accounts because the building materials prices have suddenly skyrocketed.
During CBC Sub-County implementation committee meeting the members were told that Friends School Mugunga and Mautuma Secondary School had their CBC classes completed and were ready to be commissioned.
The committee chair the Sub-County ACC 1 Mr. Evans Otieno told the committee members that Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams also slowed the progress of contractors in the month of April since the KNEC law prohibits presence of strangers in schools during exam time.
“Contractors who have expressed their financial frustrations at the work side have their work done up to lintel stage,” Otieno said.
Otieno noted that there were eight contractors whose work had stalled because of finances constraints and had written to the Sub-County CBC implementation committee.
However, according to Magdalene Igwatai, Sub-County Director of Education, the national CBC implementation committee has laid out clear procedures of paying contractors.
Igwatai who is also the committee secretary said all payments will be channeled through Safaricom Till Numbers which contractors have already complied with.
She said there are other requirements which contractors must comply with before payments are made insisting that they were aware of the same.
The SCDE assured the contractors that the Ministry of Education had already received the money from the National Treasury and were ready to be paid only on condition that they meet the minimum requirements.
Otieno also added that the percentage of the work accomplished will be assessed so as to ascertain proper valuation.
The ACC 1 reiterated that the government is ready to pay the contractors upon fulfilling the requirements, saying that more money has been allocated for the construction of more classrooms in the next phase.
A total of 24 schools will have new CBC classrooms in Lugari Sub-County if they are accomplished. Only two schools of Mautuma Secondary School and Friends School Mugunga have their work accomplished and ready to be commissioned.
The rest of the contractors have asked for partial payment of their work done so that they can complete the work which has already reached an advanced stage.