The county government of Uasin Gishu has announced plans to move to the Court of Appeal to challenge a High Court ruling directing it to pay a contractor Ksh 1 billion.
Last week, an Eldoret High Court directed the county to pay the contractor after a Ksh 35 million tender he had been awarded for the construction of Moiben Sub County Hospital was cancelled.
According to Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Evans Kapkea, the contractor had already been paid Ksh 27 million for termination.
Kapkea said the court erred in issuing an order for another payment for the same.
“We already paid the person after we terminated the contract and we’re now in the process of looking for another contractor,” the Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor said.
He however faulted the court for the decision he said did not factor in public interest.
According to Kapkea, it would be impossible for the county to pay the said amount of money which is a substantial part of the total development budget for the county in a year.
“Our annual development budget is 3.8 billion and we can’t pay one person a billion because we would end up with little nothing to finance our projects,” Kapkea said.
“We respect our courts but we ask that when they are making their decisions, they should always ensure public interest if safeguarded and not for an individual,” he added.
Which company won tender to construct Moiben Sub-County Hospital?
The court directed the county to pay the contractor, Zedka Technical Limited, after he filed the case claiming breach of contract.
According to the company, when the county terminated it’s contract for the construction of Moiben Sub-County Hospital, it has completed 30 percent of the work but was never paid.
However, the county claimed at the time of terminating the contract only 7 percent of work had been done.
The court eventually ruled in favour of the contractor whose tender was awarded during the 2015/2016 fiscal year.
[…] However, the county indicated that it would appeal the ruling. […]