It was supposed to be the launch pad for a bright future for the new generation but it has instead turned into a haven for the dark arts.
The Chaani Elimu Yetu ECD, a project of the Mombasa county government, is an incomplete and abandoned building, five years down the line.
It has become a hideout for a dangerous criminal youth gang, commonly known as Spanish, comprising of teenage boys who terrorise residents.
“The project has taken too long. Now, Spanish occupies the building, waylaying people at night and robbing them violently before disappearing into the building,” Ibrahim Rasi, a resident, said.
He spoke on Wednesday at a hotel in Mombasa during the launch of a report by Haki Yetu civil society organisation. The report is titled, ‘Unfinished Business and Wasted Resources: The Case of Mombasa county’.
Rasi said county officers have frequently visited the project, taking photos before leaving.
The Chaani Elimu Yetu ECD is one of five Mombasa county government projects highlighted in the report.
The Haki Yetu report tells of millions of shillings of taxpayers’ money sunk into projects that have either stalled, are abandoned or have become useless because of neglect.
The ECD is one of many that the county government has continuously made budgetary allocations for construction and renovations.
Chaani Elimu Yetu ECD, whose construction began in 2015, featured in the Auditor General’s report for the year ending June 30, 2015.
In the report, the project was said to have cost Sh27.8 million and was 66 per cent complete.
The project has lasted five years but is nowhere near completion, it stated.
“During the inspection of the facility, the team was shocked at the sight of an incomplete, dilapidated and vandalised building that has been converted into a dungeon for criminal gangs in the area,” the report says.
However, county secretary Dennis Lewa said he will have to check on the project first before making any comment.
He said other county projects that are mentioned in the report may be misleading because of the time they were implemented.
“There is what we call depreciation in any asset,” Lewa explained. “A project cannot remain new forever. It will have to depreciate because of wear and tear”.
He said it was wrong to assume a project is not worth the value it was assigned to after years of use.
The county secretary said the report referred to budget figures from as far back as 2015.
“On Monday, after going through the books, we will be able to respond adequately to the queries,” Lewa said.
The Uwanja wa Mbuzi stadium also features in the report.
The 2000 capacity stadium was constructed at a cost of Sh75 million to improve sports in the area.
“The audit report for the year ended June 30, 2016 shows the contract sum was Sh66.2 million,” Haki Yetu’s report says.
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho opened the stadium on May 27, 2017 with pomp and colour.
But barely three years later, the facility has tattered synthetic grass.
“The current status of the stadium does not match the Sh75 million allocated for its construction. There is no value for money spent on the facility,” the report reads.