Nyali Member of Parliament Mohammed Ali, popularly known as “Jicho Pevu,” has raised concerns over alleged irregularities in a reported KSh8 billion road project inside the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in Mombasa.
Speaking to the media, the lawmaker questioned the justification of the reported expenditure, arguing that the figures are high compared to standard global road construction projects.
“There is a lady who has been paid a tender, she has been paid, 8 billion for 800 meters of road. 800 meters of road inside the port she has been paid 8 billion,” said Jicho Pevu.
The MP has criticized Coast region leaders for what he termed as praising and dancing for the president and cabinet secretaries, rather than raising serious issues affecting the Coast region.
Mohammed Ali also claimed that although leaders fought to keep the Port’s operations in Mombasa, profits and value generated by the port are not being retained in the country as expected.
Alleged Project Cost Sparks Public Debate
According to Mohammed Ali, a lady was awarded a tender to construct an 800-meter road inside the Port of Mombasa. The MP claims that the lady has already been paid part of the money.
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Ali has argued that the awarded construction project cost is 30 times the average world record of $2 million per km for road construction, even though the road is not even a kilometer long.
However, the figures remain part of a public allegation, and no detailed official breakdown of the project has been released in connection with the claims.
He has blamed the government for the poor roads in the Coast, yet a lot of money is being spent on constructing an 800-meter road inside the port.
Coast Leaders Accused of Prioritizing Praise Politics Over Development
Jicho Pevu has also criticized Coast region leaders, accusing them of failing to raise urgent development issues when engaging national leadership.
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He argued that instead of focusing on pressing concerns such as healthcare, hospitals, infrastructure, and the poor state of roads in Mombasa, some leaders are singing and dancing for them.
“Our leaders here in the Coast region and Mombasa in general have been lazy. They are people when the president and the ministers come, instead of talking about issues that affect the health of the people- issues like hospitals, health care, infrastructure, our port, when you come to Mombasa, the roads are in a bad state, you feel like you’re in a cow shed. Instead of talking about work of the citizens, investment Instead of telling the president, they call him to sing for him, and to say, tano tena,” added the lawmaker.
He also alleged that the Coast region is experiencing high levels of corruption, stating that key economic and strategic assets, including operations linked to the Port of Mombasa, are not receiving adequate protection or accountability.
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