Mombasa: The County Government of Mombasa has been challenged to expedite the completion of stalled projects and to enhance service delivery to the citizenry. Senator Mohamed Faki led the County Oversight Committee to monitor and evaluate projects in the Port City of Mombasa.
According to Kenya News Agency, as a culmination of a two-week oversight process by the Office of the Senator, an interim oversight report was handed over to Governor Abdulswamad Nassir. Senator Faki said the Oversight Fund they received from the Senate bolstered their role in overseeing county government projects. The whirlwind oversight tour was carried out in all six sub-counties: Jomvu, Mvita, Likoni, Changamwe, Kisauni, and Nyali.
‘Some of the challenges we noticed are that there are many projects that the devolved government initiated but are incomplete,’ revealed the senator. ‘In Likoni, we found several health centres like Shonda, which were started but are incomplete,’ he added. Other glaring challenges are a shortage of doctors, a lack of perimeter walls, and congestion of patients in some health centres.
‘Some Health Centres like Maweni and Ziwa la Ng’ombe, have flooding challenges. The Kongowea Health Centre lacks a perimeter wall; at one time the maternity room was hit by a lorry at night; luckily there were no patients; it could have been a disaster,’ stated the Senator. The Senator also said they found stalled Early Childhood Development Centres like the one in Mwijabu in Changamwe Sub-County, which was started in 2020; others are Kengeleni and Dingirikani in Nyali and Kisauni Sub-Counties, respectively.
The interim report also pointed out market challenges; some are complete, but traders have not moved in. The Senator now aims to oversee Elimu and Stawisha funds. Governor Nassir welcomed the oversight and said they would issue a comprehensive report later. However, he said some of the projects were derailed by a litany of court cases and contractors absconding the works.
‘The Kongowea Health Centre lacks a perimeter wall because of litigations. We were not able to construct; one person claimed ownership of the land. We recently won the case,’ said the Governor. On ECDEs, the Governor explained that the constructors were given the works and were not able to complete them for various reasons, including payment.
‘Some have resumed work because we have paid them; we are in the process of terminating the contracts of those we have paid but who have absconded. We don’t have other options,’ stated Governor Nassir. The Governor further revealed that they want to automate the delivery and issuance of medicines in health centres to address the theft of medicines.
‘It’s not possible that the County Government is purchasing drugs to the tune of Sh100 million; recently we purchased drugs worth Sh70 million, yet when you visit a health facility, the doctor says there are no drugs. We must digitise,’ he said. He promised to immediately address the urgent issues that were raised by the interim report.