The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) offices at Barabara Plaza Complex in Nairobi have been turned into a battleground as a fierce boardroom war rages amid intense push to force out the newly appointed Director General Engineer Kung’u Ndung’u.
According to insider sources who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, the friction is so intense between Kung’u and two General Managers, one serving in an acting capacity that has also attracted interests within the Board of Directors.
Three board members are said to be aligned with the two senior managers and have been tasked to initiate process to force out the DG from office while the disgruntled top officials are said to be hell-bent in exposing administrative flaws, corruption allegations and irregular award of multi-billion road construction tenders.
Kung’u is reportedly said to have declined and frustrated process of confirming the senior official who harbours political interests and is pulling strings from his connections with politicians and other senior government officials to have him confirmed as the substantive in charge.
“Yes there are silent wars that have been going on for a while now pitting the Director General and two of his juniors. A section of the board has been loped in and it is just a matter of time before everything spills over.” Our source intimated.
Chairman of the board Engineer Wangai Ndirangu has been mentioned as a person of interest in the ensuing leadership wrangles.
Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) Board Chairman Engineer Wangai Ndirangu addressing the media at a past event.
Some of the contractors who are said to have lost the lucrative tenders unfairly are also said to be preparing petitions to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc).
Early this month, the authority was on the spot for awarding Chinese firms mega road construction projects that risks breaching State policy that demands they reserve 30 per cent of their work to local firms.
However, KeNHA said the Chinese contractors will be penalised if they fail to achieve the 30 percent rule at the conclusion of the ongoing road projects.
“Their contracts demand they get to 30 percent. They can hire locals, source materials within Kenya and add that as local content,” said KeNHA in a statement.
According to KeNHA data, nine Chinese firms have so far offered local contractors an equivalent of 9.5 percent of the Sh129.68 billion worth of road constructions deals.
Foreign contractors will be required to subcontract a third of their work to Kenyans under a policy that exempts them from the 2012 proposal that overseas firms doing construction in Kenya be 30 percent locally owned.
The 30 per cent rule was enacted to encourage local firms to participate in multibillion-shilling State contracts.
However, based on a sample of ongoing road projects provided by KeNHA, Chinese firms appear to be struggling to meet the share.
China Railway No.10 Engineering Group has offered Kenyans a pittance of 0.9 per cent, or Sh12.8 million, of the Sh1.31 billion cost of building the eight-kilometer dual carriageway from the Kisumu Boys’ roundabout to the Mamboleo junction.
Kenya has embarked on its most ambitious infrastructure investment in two decades, involving the construction of new roads, the upgrading of some facilities, and the rehabilitation of others.
Local firms have missed out on large deals, winning only a small portion of the total value of contracts awarded, with the remainder going to foreign firms, primarily from China.
One local contractor blamed the government for increasing tendering demands on firms, such as requiring experience on large projects, which many lack due to decades of underinvestment in the sector.
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