Kenya: Group of MPs demands transparency in Sh1.9 billion school furniture project

A group of MPs has called for transparency in the Sh1.9 billion school furniture project. The MPs told that they are concerned that the project launched last week by President Uhuru Kenyatta is "a scandal in waiting like the Kemsa" one, according to a news report by The Star.

Dan Maanzo (Makueni), Geoffrey King’ang’i (Mbeere South), Caleb Kositany (Soy), Ayub Savula (Lurambi), Joshua Kutuny (Cherang’any) and Nelson Koech (Belgut) proposed that the Ministry of Education publishes the list of potential desk and locker assemblers and those who qualify to supply the furniture.

They said the money should have been channelled through the National Government Constituency Development Fund.

According to the legislators, only the NG-CDF offices know the needs of the schools and they have the structures to tender for the furniture.

King’ang’i noted that the decision to use the provincial administration to lead the project was ill-informed and should be reversed to allow the stakeholders to take part.

"At our CDF offices, we receive requests from both primary and secondary schools asking for chairs, desks, tables and lockers. It is at the constituency level that we have statistics on the needs of all the schools," he said. 

"The method that has been adopted is not clear and it opens an avenue of corruption like it happened in the Kemsa procurement for Covid-19 supplies. The government should rethink this decision and involve all stakeholders." 

Maanzo said the desks and lockers should be standardised to meet COVID-19 protocols.

"Headteachers  -who are the secretaries to the school boards - should be the ones making requisition on the number of desks and other furniture they need. It should not be the DC ordering on behalf of schools. They do not have facts," he said.