The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is the target of an ongoing investigation by the Public Investments Committee (PIC) of the National Assembly, which oversees social services, administration, and agriculture. The allegations center around loan irregularities and cost inflation totaling billions of shillings.
The committee is now asking the parastatal to explain this notable increase in construction costs. The committee is especially concerned about a 340 percent increase in the cost of building a multi-story parking lot in Nairobi.
On Tuesday, committee members visited NHIF's premises to examine the car park, the construction of which was estimated to have cost Ksh. 3.9 billion instead of Ksh. 900 million. Many of them deemed the structure to be subpar.
The committee said there was no excuse for the costs incurred and that those responsible for the construction's planning should be taken into custody.
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“That was a whooping thuggery; there was no value for money. They (planners) should all be in jail and not interacting with Kenyans,” PIC Chair and National Assembly Majority Whip Emmanuel Wangwe said.
Ksh. 900 million shillings was budgeted for the entire project in May 2002, according to the Auditor General's report for the year ending June 30, 2016.
The project cost Ksh.3.4 billion when it was finished in 2008. The project also cost Ksh. 4.7 million and Ksh. 626.6 million more.
“The project had been delayed and the prolongation in the contract period is what caused the escalation,” NHIF CEO Elijah Wachira said.
The committee visited the disputed land in Karen, which NHIF and two other entities claim, earlier. The committee has also invited the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to provide information on the ownership dispute investigations.
The committee was also taken aback to discover that, despite a 2016 court order directing it to do so, the State parastatal has not fenced the property.
NHIF was further questioned about the Ksh. 1.4 billion paid to consultants for design and feasibility work.
“How come NHIF paid Ksh.1.4 billion for works that did not take off? We will be asking NHIF to explain,” Wangwe stated.
To discuss the findings and get clarification on the issues raised by the investigation, the committee has called a meeting for March 13 with the NHIF.
