The state-owned Bomas is looking to redevelop its 80-acre parcel of land along Nairobi’s Langata Road in order to attract international meetings and conferences.
The National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee (PIC) took the Bomas management to task to explain how Sh500 million was spent on a feasibility study.
Bomas of Kenya chief executive officer Peter Gitaa told the committee that the corporation has already received a nod from the National Treasury to pursue a PPP deal, with no upfront funding from the exchequer.
Parliament has directed the Auditor-General to conduct a special audit of Bomas of Kenya’s Sh500 million expenditure on feasibility studies for its Sh63 billion upgrade into a modern conference centre.
The state-owned Bomas is looking to redevelop its 80-acre parcel of land along Nairobi’s Langata Road in order to attract international meetings and conferences, through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
The National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee (PIC) took the Bomas management to task to explain how Sh500 million was spent on a feasibility study.
“I recommend that a forensic audit be conducted on how Sh500 million was spent on a feasibility study. This is a lot of money and an investigation needs to be carried out by the Auditor-General,” said Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, who chairs the committee.
Bomas of Kenya chief executive officer Peter Gitaa told the committee that the corporation has already received a nod from the National Treasury to pursue a PPP deal, with no upfront funding from the exchequer.
He added that the feasibility study included drawing up of a masterplan and a model for the ultra-modern conference facility, and that Bomas also utilised part of the funds to put up a perimeter wall on the facility.
“The National Treasury gave us Sh500 million for development of a masterplan and the feasibility study for the new hotel facilities in the 2015/16 financial year. We have documents from Standard Investment Bank and Triad Architects who did the feasibility studies,” Mr Gitaa said.
Earlier this month, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala disclosed that the government is shopping for a transaction advisor for the modernisation of Bomas.
The facility late last year launched a new facility that has pushed its seating capacity to about 5,500 making it one of the largest modern international convention and exhibition centres in East and Central Africa.
The Bomas of Kenya was launched in 1971 with the sole mandate of preserving, maintaining, educating and promoting the diverse cultures of various ethnic groups in Kenya, but has over the years become a favourite venue for state functions including constitutional conferences.
It has also been utilised by the electoral commission as the national tallying centre in the last two polls.
