A new twist has emerged in the dispute between the Vihiga county government and contractors over the debt owed to contractors by the County. The whole issue took on a new dimension when Governor Moses Akaranga said there was a scam in tendering, which lead to the emergence of ghost contractors.
The County boss said the process of paying some contractors has already commenced saying not all contractors will be paid. It has now emerged that some contractors did a shoddy job and they are demanding for payment.
Akaranga said some officers in the procurement department colluded with some contractors, who were awarded tenders without following due process. According to Akaranga, some contractors were illegally awarded tenders with a higher quotation as opposed to the job valuation.
He said he has brought in experts to examine the quality of the job done noting that majority of the projects were overpaid.
The governor has urged the troubled contractors to be patient as their payment process takes effect despite pressure from the camp over their deplorable financial status brought by the loans they took to fund the projects done. “I urge contractors to be patient. We started paying them from last week, and we are only paying those who have completed their projects as stated,’’ said Akaranga.
The Contractors’ camp has been accusing the County Government of applying delaying tactics in payment.
