This archive report was first published on 28 September 2019.
On September 28, 2019, Governor Wycliffe Wangamati of Bungoma County handed over the proposed dual carriage way project to the contractor Jiangizi Zhongmei Construction Group from China. However, three months later, no work has been done on the project.
Investigations have revealed that the executive member in charge of public works and construction, Collins Mukhongo, and his chief officer, Maurice Marango, have been misleading Governor Wangamati and the public about the project's progress. They claimed that everything was going smoothly, despite knowing that the Controller of Budget had rejected their proposal to implement the project without the authority of the National Controller of Budget.
The Controller of Budget's rejection was due to the county government's failure to obtain a go-ahead from the Attorney General. This has left the project in limbo, with traders and building owners in the area lamenting the disruption caused by the officials' promises of immediate implementation.
Traders at the Chepkube market and shopkeepers have been left in a state of uncertainty, with some being forced to demolish parts of their structures to make way for the road. Lusike Musamali, a sweet potato and cassava dealer, expressed her frustration, saying that the relocation of small-scale traders has not materialized, leaving their lives hanging in the balance.
It is now up to Governor Wangamati to deal with the officials who are misleading him at the expense of innocent taxpayers and traders at the market.
