Barasa warns leaders against politicising construction of mega projects

Political leaders from Kakamega County have been urged to stop politicising mega projects being implemented through collaboration between the national and county governments.

Speaking after an inspection tour at the Sh10 billion Kakamega Level Six Referral Hospital and Sh6.6 billion Bukhungu International Stadium, Governor Fernandes Barasa expressed confidence that the projects will be completed within six months.

He urged leaders to unite for the sake of development in the region.

"Those critics propagating propaganda on social media that there is no work going on, I want to tell them to stop and instead unite in pushing for development for our people in collaboration with the national government, and they are free to come and see for themselves the progress of the current works," said Barasa.

"I want to urge the people of Kakamega and Kenyans at large to support what is good and depoliticise what the government is intervening to ensure all the projects that have been taken up are completed," he added.

The governor announced that his administration has already done an inventory of equipment in collaboration with the Ministry of Health under the national equipment support programme.

"We want by the time we commission this facility in August this year, we should have equipment so that we can achieve our universal health programme. This facility is going to offer 2,000 jobs to our people besides providing an opportunity to our medical students from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, and the President will be visiting Kakamega this month to inspect the status of the hospital that he supports, and it is being delivered," said Barasa.

Construction of the 750-bed hospital began in 2016 and was recently allocated Sh2 billion by the national government to facilitate completion.

The governor assured that pending bills owed to the former contractor will be paid concurrently as the works proceed at the facility.

 Barasa noted that Bukhungu Stadium is now over 50 per cent complete and will be ready by the end of the year.

“We have agreed with the contractor to put in place an accelerated programme so that we can meet our target. The county has committed additional funds to ensure that construction remains on track,” he said.

Barasa said that the project is a joint undertaking between the county and the national government through the Ministry of Sports.

He thanked President Ruto for his commitment in ensuring completion of the project.

“This is a partnership project. The county is also progressively putting in Sh600million to complement the support we are receiving from the national government,” he said.

He emphasised the need to increase the workforce on site and allow multiple activities to run simultaneously in order to beat the timelines.

The governor expressed confidence that once complete, Bukhungu Stadium will be considered as one of the venues for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.

The stadium, which successfully hosted the Cecafa Under-18 Championships, is also expected to host matches of the 2027 AFCON, which Kenya will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania. 

The county government has so far spent Sh875 million, Sh475 million, and Sh400 million respectively in the initial phases.

The first phase involved offices of the county government, 200 capacity parking spaces, construction of stands, VIP and VVIP rooms, a doping control room and two changing rooms, among others.

The second phase comprised the main VIP Stand, building terraces, a gym room, six changing rooms, and a dispensary room, among others.

Areas earmarked in the southern ‘C’ Section included lighting, changing rooms, natural ground converted to Caf standards, sitting areas, ablution blocks, and VIP changing rooms, among others, which will be done in the next three months.