Deputy President Kithure Kindiki inspecting Sh114m Kaguku market at Ithanga in Murang'a county/ ALICE WAITHERADeputy President Kithure Kindiki has threatened legal action against a contractor who abandoned the construction of the Sh114 million Ithanga Market in Gatanga Constituency, Murang’a County.
Kindiki said the government would follow due procedures to terminate the contractor’s contract and appoint another firm to ensure construction of the market resumes without further delay.
Speaking during a public engagement rally at Kaguku Shopping Centre on Thursday, Kindiki said taxpayers’ money allocated for the project could not remain unused because of a contractor who had failed to honour the agreement.
“You cannot get a contract that is funded by Kenyan taxpayers and then fail to do the work. A month ends, a year passes, yet this market is supposed to have been completed by now and be in use by the people of Ithanga,” Kindiki said.
He said the government would take action against the contractor and seek a replacement to complete the stalled project, expressing concerns that the project has only seen 17 per cent progress despite starting in 2024.
"We have agreed with the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Alice Wahome, that we cannot discuss this contract again. Let us get another contractor who will deliver,” he said.
Kindiki said the delay was also denying local residents, particularly young people, employment opportunities that would have been created had construction progressed as planned.
“If this market was being constructed, wouldn’t many young people have got jobs? We will have to take action,” he said.
A makeshift market being used by traders at Kaguku shopping centre in Ithanga, Murang'a/ ALICE WAITHERAThe Deputy President said the government was implementing 27 market projects across Murang’a County, with most either completed or nearing completion.
Kindiki also outlined other government projects in the county, including the construction of eight hostel accommodation projects in colleges and the planned tarmacking of an additional 1,285 kilometres of roads at a cost of Sh56 billion.
Kindiki further said Sh1 billion had been allocated to connect 13,000 households in Murang’a to electricity, with Gatanga set to receive Sh250 million to connect an additional 2,000 families.
The Deputy President also renewed the government’s campaign against illicit and poisonous alcoholic drinks, warning that agencies would intensify the crackdown on manufacturers and distributors of harmful products.
He said the police, Kenya Revenue Authority, Anti-Counterfeit Authority and Kenya Bureau of Standards would be involved in the operation, with members of the public expected to provide information on illegal factories.
Kindiki said the government would also take action against officials taking bribes from illicit alcohol dealers, urging residents to help expose those facilitating the trade.
He called on politicians to focus on development while allowing government agencies to lead the fight against illicit alcohol and drugs.
The Deputy President also urged Kenyans to maintain unity, saying political and ethnic divisions would undermine the country’s development.
