Contractors working on some state projects in the western city of Kisumu have been told they must complete them by April this year. The projects include the rehabilitation of the railway link to the city, completion of the port, a marine school and a power plant. According to media reports, President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Leader Raila Odinga are expected to ride the Kisumu-bound train in April. The two are seen as the force behind the accelerated development activity witnessed in the region.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is keen to complete the projects initiated by his administration. In recent days, there has been feverish activity on the projects with random inspection tours being carried out by senior government officials such as Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and even the Head of State himself.
Yesterday, a committee overseeing the implementation of the Kisumu projects visited the sites and noted that out of the several projects running concurrently, only one had faced hitches after the contractor failed to start the works. This is a stretch of the Kisumu-Kakamega highway. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) was hard-pressed to explain the delay and blamed the contractor, saying a letter to show cause had already had already been issued to the contractor who had not started the work despite receiving at least Kes 30m.
