Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) classroom contractors in Migori County who were awarded tenders to construct classrooms for the CBC during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure have threatened to make the classrooms inaccessible due to a lack of payments.
According to the contractors, the government is yet to make payments to them for more than two months since they completed the construction of the CBC classrooms.
The contractors claimed that they had borrowed millions of shillings to build the CBC classrooms and that the banks were already demanding that they meet their end of the bargain.
One of the contractors who spoke on behalf of the others claimed that the government owes each contractor Kes. 1.3 million for the classrooms that they completed building.
Besides, he said that they had applied for the tenders advertised in December 2021 for the first phase and on July 2022 for the second phase and won. Further, he claimed that they were given work and completed it in time but have yet to receive payment.
The contractors claimed they had tried to get feedback from the Ministry of Education officials in vain.
The Migori contractors are among many other contractors who are yet to receive payment across the country as they are owed upwards of Kes. 7.8 billion for the project meant to facilitate grade six learners who transitioned to Junior Secondary Schools (JSSs).
The delay in payment will not only affect the contractors but also there is a risk of learners being locked out of the classrooms.
The problems the contractors are experiencing are just a drop in the ocean with many other contractors across the country time and time getting awarded tenders but not paid in time.
It remains to be seen what will transpire after the contractor’s protests but they deserve to be paid as soon as possible since they delivered on their end.