CONSTRUCTION ON A GO SLOW FOR LACK OF FUNDS.

CONSTRUCTION ON A GO SLOW FOR LACK OF FUNDS.

JANE MUGAMBI 29TH JAN 2012.

Construction of Karatina retail market is on a go slow after the Ministry of local government failed to give part of 266.6 Million shillings to the contractor to finish the work.

According to the contractor Uchumi International Agencies John Nduati, the work has slowed down due to lack of enough money from the government.

HE said that the money that had already been given is finished making it difficult for him to continue with the construction.

“The money that I has been given is finished, I am using my own money which is not enough so as to see the work going though it being done slowly for lack of funds” added Nduati.

The contractor said that once the money is given out, work will be back to normal adding that more man power is going to be required so as to beat the July deadline when the construction is supposed to have ended.

Mutua Nzoka the director Market development department in the ministry of Local government told the contractor that the slow down was as a result of the December holiday where many public officers were not in the office saying that the government has processed 5 certificates worth 120M assuring everything is in place.

He said that the despite the delay of one certificate that is being processed, the deadline has to be met by the contractor per the project which is behind with 2 months where he was told he will try to recover the waste time.

“The contractor has to find a way how he is going to recover the wasted time since it is two months behind to beat the July deadline when it supposed to be handed over to the Karatina Municipal council” added the director.

The director also added instructed the council management to make the stalls be competitive while being allocated to the vendors.

HE said that despite there were vendors at the stalls before they were migrated to another place the allocation has to be done competitively.

He said that the council has to identify the staff who are going to be trained which is going to last for 6 months so as to make them understand how it is run.

“The officers from the council who will be allocated jobs at the market have to be trained to avert chaos and loss of revenue from the vendors” added the director.

Mr. Kariuki Karatina Municipal town clerk said that once the market is over it will accommodate over 5000 people adding that the stall are going to also increase.

He also said that with the increase of the stalls and the vendors revenue is also going to go high due to the high demand of the commodities.

HE said that the market is the biggest in East and central east Africa which he said sees vendors as far as Tanzania and Uganda who buy and sells their commodity in it.

“The market once completed is going to get more vendors from Uganda and Tanzania who severally come to sell and by commodities from Karatina” added the town clerk.

The town clerk assured that they are watching the pace in which the construction is being done saying that even if the government has delayed dispatching the money, the contractor is supposed to be working.

ENDS..
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