State spending on housing has overtaken that on roads for the first time, underlining a new focus towards President William Ruto’s pet projects, as the construction of over 200,000 affordable houses takes shape.
Disclosures show that the State Department for Housing and Urban Development spent Sh55.9 billion in the six months to December 2025, marking a Sh34.8 billion rise compared to a similar period in 2024.
The expenditure on housing projects surpassed cash spent on building and repair of roads for the first time, as the State Department for Roads spent a Sh39 billion during the six months, a Sh163 million drop compared to a similar period the previous year.
The roads sector has been the State’s main focus, taking the lion's share in previous years, including 19.6 per cent of the Sh200.3 billion development spend in the first half of 2024/25, 18.2 per cent of the project spending over a similar period in 2023/2024, and 18.9 per cent in 2022/2023.
The National Treasury Building in Nairobi. Delayed disbursements by Treasury have been blamed for nonpayment of county staff salaries
Photo credit: Pool
Latest disclosures by the National Treasury now show that during the first half of the current fiscal year, 20.2 per cent of the Sh273 billion projects budget went to the housing sector, where the government is currently constructing 214,057 affordable houses.
The government says it completed 605 units in Bondeni, Nakuru County, 1,080 units in Mukuru, Nairobi, 110 units in Homa Bay, and 390 institutional units across various counties last year.
Building of at least 83,044 affordable units, which are at a 32 per cent completion level, 44,803 social housing units, and 11,527 institutional units is also ongoing, the 2026 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) shows.
“The Affordable Housing Programme has generated over 428,000 jobs, up from 17,744 in 2022 to 330,000 by 2025, with employment projected to reach 1 million by 2026,” the BPS says.
Heavy spending on housing projects has been witnessed as the government continues to collect billions of shillings deducted from workers' and employers' monthly salaries, with collections in the last fiscal year totalling Sh73.2 billion.
In the budget review for the July - December 2025 period, Treasury says at least four State departments absorbed more than half of the Sh273 billion spent by the national government on projects, but housing took a fifth of all the share.
The State departments for Housing, Roads, Economic Planning, and Treasury accounted for 52.4 percent of all development spending between July and December 2025, the concentration of resources underlining the State’s renewed focus on President Ruto’s pet projects as the 2027 elections approach.
The State Department for Roads spent Sh39 billion on different projects, Economic Planning spent Sh29.8 billion, and Treasury used Sh18.3 billion, the report shows.
Artist’s impression of Nairobi to Mau Summit toll road once it is completed.
Photo credit: Pool
In the roads sector, where Sh39 billion was spent during the half-year, the government has launched the construction of the Nairobi-Mau Summit Highway, among other roads under construction in different parts.
A July-September 2025 report by the Controller of Budget (COB) showed that the State constructed 91.77km of roads during the three months and maintained 35.1km, spending Sh17 billion.
The spending on roads was followed by the State Department for Economic Planning, which coordinates national and sectoral development planning, management of statistics, and tracking national development plans.
The State Department spent Sh29 billion, with COB reviews indicating that much of its focus during the first quarter was on community development, where Sh11 billion was spent, followed by census and surveys (Sh125 million).
The National Treasury, whose main focus is to implement financial and economic policies in the country, spent Sh18.3 billion, mainly to support Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) operations as it collects taxes, purchase of equipment for the government data centre, and transfers to the Equalisation Fund.
“Analysis of development outlay indicates that the State Department for Housing and Urban Development accounted for the largest share of the total development expenditure (20.2 per cent), followed by the State Department for Roads (14.1 per cent), State Department for Economic Planning (10.8 percent), and the National Treasury (6.6 per cent),” Treasury said.
Cumulatively, the four state departments spent Sh143 billion, accounting for more than half of all the Sh273 billion spent on projects during the six months.
The Sh273 billion spending on development projects was short of the Sh371 billion target by 26.5 percent.
Other departments with sizable spending on projects included Water and Sanitation (Sh15.6 billion), Crop Development (Sh15.9 billion), and Medical Services (Sh12.9 billion).
