The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is set to return 1.2 billion shillings to the National Treasury after it failed to put it use within the current ending financial year.
KAA has been called out for failing to have renovated the eight airstrips marked and will now have to return the funds.
The eight airstrips that had been marked for renovation include Bomet Airstrips, Malindi Airport, Lokichogio Airport, and Isiolo, Kabunde, Kakamega, Kitale, and Migori airstrips.
The current financial year 2018/2019 is six days to expiry as a new financial year, 2019/2020, begins on Monday meaning KAA no longer has time to embark on the renovations which will force it to return the over a billion shillings to the National Treasury.
KAA’s management has been called out by the National Assembly Transport committee for what can be termed as laxity following the failure to implement projects including the renovation of the airstrips.
“We are very concerned as a committee with your speed of implementation of projects. KAA has a very poor method of implementing projects and it’s worrying. We have only one week to close the current financial year,” Mr. David Pkosing, the Committee Chairman said regretfully.
Pkosing said he regretted that the money to be returned to the National Treasury had been greatly lobbied for by his committee which saw the allocation take place.
“We don’t know what KAA’s problem is; they have good staff. There is some loose wire at the authority that needs to be adjusted,” Mr. Pkosing told KAA management when they appeared before the committee.
The 1.2 billion shillings was to be divided as follows:
- Malindi Airstrip- 457 million shillings
- Lokichogio Airstrip-150 million shillings
- Kakamega Airstrip-150 million shillings
- Kabunde airstrip-100 million shillings
- Isiolo Airport -300 million shillings
- Kitale airstrip – 100 million shillings
- Migori airstrip – 100 million shillings
- Bomet airstrip – 63 million shillings
KAA Managing Director Jonny Andersen confirmed the return of the monies to Members of Parliament saying that the renovation funds were yet to be disbursed to the authority.