Kenya National Library Services (KNLS) is under fire for increasing the price of constructing its Nairobi headquarters by Sh837 million.
The contract amount for the Maktaba Kuu Building on Upper Hill was increased by 40 percent, or Sh836,651,599. The building’s construction was supposed to cost Sh2 billion, but three changes drove up the price to Sh2.89 billion.
Nancy Gathungu, the Auditor General, stated in a report that many changes raised the contract sum by 40% in violation of section 139 of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2015, which states that the variation should not be greater than 25% of the original contract price.
According to the audit, the project’s duration was extended three times by 65, 72, and 20 weeks, with the most recent completion date being August 19, 2020.