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Sh5bn industrial parks loss shame for counties
What you need to know:
- Boosting rural economic growth can stem the movement to the urban centres.
- Governors have accused the national government of bungling the project.
The establishment of industrial parks in the counties is a key dream that is being squandered. This is a project President William Ruto’s administration had touted as a solution to the rampant youth unemployment and a means to curb the rise in the rural-urban migration that lands many in squalor in the slums.
Boosting rural economic growth can stem the movement to the urban centres, where the increasing numbers undermine their ability to provide the most basic services.
Quite shocking, therefore, is the revelation of a Sh5 billion industrial parks scandal three years since the project’s inception. Former Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria says that by the time he left the position in October 2023, he had already launched the Integrated Industrial Parks in 16 counties. He had said in August 2023 that all the counties would have industrial parks within 12 months.
Had the momentum been sustained, this would have facilitated progress towards turning Kenya into a first-world country, which is one of President Ruto’s major ambitions. However, not a single industrial park has been completed. And 13 counties have not yet started any. In 16 counties, the implementation is at 30 per cent or below, despite the substantial sums of money already spent. Only 14 counties have above 50 per cent completion rate.
Bungling the project
Each county was required to allocate Sh250 million, and the national government, through the State Department for Industry, would give Sh250 million.
It is, therefore, disturbing that in the 2025/2026 financial year, the government will again pump into the project an additional Sh4.45 billion, which has already been allocated to 24 counties.
Governors have accused the national government of bungling the project. One problem is the lack of feasibility studies to establish what each county needed to prioritise instead of imposing the parks on them. As a result, some might end up becoming white elephants.
This is a huge investment of public money that should yield value for the taxpayers.
