Jama puts road contractors on notice over shoddy work

Garissa Governor Nathif Jama on Monday said contractors who do shoddy work risk being blacklisted.

Speaking when he launched the tarmacking of the 1.6Km Bulla Madina - Bulla Hagar access road, Jama said the county government will not only fail to pay such contractors but the necessary legal action will be taken against them as well.

"I want to be very categorical from the onset that we will be very strict at every step of project implementation. And this we have already told the contractors who now know very well what it means to do good work,” he said.

Jama emphasised on the need for the contractors to stick to the specifications as clearly outlined in the BQ (list of materials and services required to perform a project) when doing road constructions.

He made reference to poor workmanship witnessed in the past where contractors delivered substandard work.

“Gone are the days when contractors used to carry out shoddy work so that they can be paid and then vanish,” he said.

The governor who was accompanied by several leaders among them Galbet MCA Abubakar Khalif and the Roads executive Nassir Mohamed, said his administration was keen on constructing more tarmac roads in Garissa town to improve connectivity and access for residents and bring down the cost of doing business.

He urged residents to fully cooperate with the contractors so that the work can go on smoothly without any interruptions.

On his part, MCA Khalif said infrastructure development is a key ingredient in accelerating development and commended the county administration for opening up more roads by improving their standards.

He reiterated the governor's sentiments for contractors to give value for money saying as leaders, they will make sure every single coin spent is accounted for.

"As leaders, we will not allow contractors to do shoddy work. They must account for the money that they will be paid by doing quality work because this is tax payers money,” he said.

Abubakar, who is also the Majority leader in the assembly, said the assembly will continue allocating enough budgetary allocation to important sectors.

"We want to appeal to local contractors who have been awarded important projects by the government to work extra hard and complete the projects on time," he said.