Dandora Stadium construction face fresh delays
Sports stakeholders will have to wait until January 2022 at the very least to access and use the Dandora Stadium.
This is after acting Nairobi Governor Ann Kananu said her administration will complete constructing the facility after an ongoing probe by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is dispensed with.
EACC has been investigating alleged irregularities in the procurement process for the construction of the stadium since 2019.
However, the Commission last week distanced itself from the stalled works at the stadium saying the ongoing probe should not be used by City Hall as a basis for stopping any works at the stadium.
But speaking at City Hall Kananu said she’s waiting for a thumbs up from EACC.
“We all know that there is a case at EACC so I would not really want to talk much about it. We are waiting for the EACC to clear the processes and as a county government we are sure that once the case is cleared, Dandora Stadium will be in place,” she explained.
The stance by the acting governor means that any work at the stadium will only commence after two months when the anti-graft agency is expected to hand over the final report of the ongoing probe.
Appearing before the Senate’s Labour and Social Welfare committee last week, EACC said they are fast-tracking the probe by dedicating a team of officers to bring closure to the matter within two months.
Mr David Too, EACC Director Legal Services and Asset Recovery, informed the Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja-led committee that they have at no time instructed City Hall nor the contractor to stop work at the stadium.
This was after Nairobi Education and Sports CEC Janet Ouko said that they were waiting for EACC and Public Procurements Regulatory Authority (PPRA) to finalize the matter to clear the county to proceed with the works or terminate the contract and then retender the work.
The stadium’s construction commenced in June 2018, as part of four stadia that the county, then under the leadership of Governor Mike Sonko had promised, and was to be completed in 18 months.
In February this year, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that the county government to complete the construction of the stadium, even as the probe into the project continues.
The President said the contractor should come back on-site and complete the remaining piece of work for residents to benefit from the project.