Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano yesterday faced tough questions from MPs over the decision by her ministry to proceed with the facelift of Bomas of Kenya at a cost of Sh31.6 billion without seeking the approval of Parliament.
Members of the National Assembly’s Wildlife and Tourism Committee, chaired by Maara MP Kareke Mbiuki, expressed concern that despite major works already underway, they had not been given any details on the project.
They accused Miano and top ministry officials of taking the committee for granted by only involving them during budget discussions but excluding them when launching or implementing major projects.
During the meeting, MPs demanded that Miano provide full details of the renovations so that they could assess whether the project offers value for money.
They specifically asked for agreements on the scope of the works, the mode of procurement including whether it was a direct award, and confirmation on whether the contract was publicly advertised.
Committee members Kareke Mbiuki, Abdi Ali of Ijaara, and Innocent Mugambe of Likuyani said they wanted to avoid a repeat of past frustrations such as those experienced during the renovation of the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC).
They noted that like KICC, the Bomas facelift was being carried out by the Ministry of Defence, raising the need for transparency on all aspects of the deal.
Kareke questioned why the ministry only engages Parliament during budget-making but not in the implementation stage.
“Please CS tell us what is happening, your people are only keen on engaging us during the budget process but during the implementation process they pass us. We only see projects being launched in high profile events where the president is involved and we are in the dark,” he said.
His concerns were echoed by Mugambe, who said it was wrong for the oversight committee to be sidelined.
“There are a lot of works ongoing at Bomas of Kenya and as the oversight committee we don’t know what is going on. We should not take this lightly, we must be provided with information,” he said.
Abdi Ali also drew parallels to the KICC project, warning that the committee risked facing the same frustrations if details were not disclosed early.
“This is not the first time we are facing issues, previously we also faced issues regarding the renovations at KICC. Am sure members don’t want to face the same frustrations they faced with KICC,” he stated.
In response, Miano assured the committee that their concerns had been noted and promised to provide the requested details.
She explained that the financing for the Bomas project had initially been under the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage but was transferred to her ministry through an executive order.
“We have taken note of the members’ concerns both for the Tourism Promotion Fund and Bomas of Kenya which has now been domiciled in our ministry and we are in the process of handing over,” she said.
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