The Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) has resorted to using rent savings for construction works in the South C-based Mitihani House, amid funding shortfalls for the 39-year-old project.
Knec relocated all its staff from five different locations in Nairobi to the incomplete Mitihani House and started using cash meant for the rent to undertake construction works on building after facing funding shortfalls from the Treasury, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has revealed.
The government started construction of Mitihani House in 1986, but the project has taken more than 39 years without completion, amid funding shortfalls and budget overshoots over the years.
In the audit for the year to June 2024, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said Knec used funds meant for rent to finalise construction of some floors for staff to enter.
“As at the time of the audit in December, 2024, the project was still incomplete although the Council had done some work through funds raised internally from savings of rent, to ensure usability of some floors in Towers A and B. All staff of the council are now housed at South C, from the previous five locations around Nairobi,” Ms Gathungu said.
Knec's decision came even as the Ministry of Education extended the deadline for completion of the project to June 2027, which will have seen it take about 41 years –the longest it has taken any government project in Kenya.
In the year ending June 2023, Knec had spent ShSh95.2 million on staff housing and office accommodation, including Sh12.19 million rent paid to the National Housing Corporation (NHC) where the council had offices on three floors. Ms Gathungu notes that funding shortfalls for the project have caused it to continue stalling, as taxpayers lack value for the cash spent on it.
As the project lagged over the years, its budget shot about 18 times from Sh248.9 million to Sh4.67 billion, and the auditor warns that more delays risk further cost escalations.
About 407 staff of Knec have previously been housed at the NHC House, Caledonia, Industrial Area, South C and Bollore Warehouse since the council started operations. Mitihani House was constructed to consolidate all the activities of KNEC under one roof.
“In the circumstances, the delays in the completion of the project, now going into four decades, may lead to cost escalation due to inflationary pressures and the Government may not get value for money spent on the project,” Ms Gathungu said.
