The Kenya Urban and Roads Authority (KURA) explained the reason behind the cancellation of tenders that had been advertised by the Authority.
KURA had on Thursday, May 9, 2024, in a notice announced the cancellation of 95 tenders for different road works funded by the Government of Kenya Development fund and Road Maintenance Levy Fund.
Following the cancellation, the Authority explained the turn of events, noting that it was because of the current ongoing rains.
“We note the valid concern regarding the cancellation of recent tenders. The cancellation was necessitated by the unprecedented damage by the current heavy rains which has greatly affected the condition of many roads,” read part of the statement.
According to the Authority, the roads will be done but after a new scoping which takes cognizance of their current state.
Also Read: Govt Cancels 95 Lucrative Road Tenders
KURA further said that rescoping will be done immediately the rains subside to capture current conditions and also address immediate needs as a matter of priority.
KURA Cancels Tenders
The authority issued the statement hours after it had announced the cancellation through a notice.
“This is to bring to the attention of the general public cancellation of all the tenders that were advertised in MyGov Newspaper on 16th April 2024 and the subsequent notice, addendums and clarifications,” read the notice.
KURA through its portal and the Public Procurement Information portal had invited the public for several roadwork tenders.
The tenders included roads to undergo improvement, periodic maintenance, and improvement, while others were to undergo both the periodic maintenance and improvement.
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On the other hand, some roads required construction of box culvert construction, drainage improvement, installation of Bollards, and reinstatement.
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Corridor clearance and protection works, routine maintenance of roads, periodic Maintenace and spot improvement, rehabilitation and upgrading were also other tender works advertised.
According to KURA, interested bidders were supposed to be registered with the National Construction Authority (NCA) road works categories.
Wamuchomba Calls out Roads’ Authorities
The cancellation of tenders came days after Githunguri Member of Parliament (MP) Gathoni Wamuchomba called out the Authority over revenue allocation of 2023 tenders in Kiambu County.
Wamuchomba had earlier complained over the allocation of funds, citing revenue share disparity and regional favoritism.
The MP called out both KURA and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) for skewed allocation of funds in the 12 constituencies of Kiambu County.
“For KURA (urban) roads funds Kikuyu gets 63 percent i.e. Ksh220 M out of Ksh350 M allocated to all Kiambu’s 12 constituencies. Whereas I appreciate kikuyu getting some development we should be fair in the sharing,” lamented Wamuchomba.
Furthermore, Wamuchomba highlighted that out of the total KeRRA funds via 2023 Tender Notices, Kikuyu Constituency received got Ksh1. 4 million.
According to the lawmaker, this was about 94.4% out of the Kiambu County share of Ksh1.54million from the national kitty.
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