A truck passes at a construction site on Mombasa-Mazeras-Mariakani Highway on December 18, 2024. The Treasury has apportioned an additional Sh6.98 billion towards infrastructure development in the latest mini-budget.
The Treasury has apportioned an additional Sh6.98 billion towards infrastructure development in the latest mini-budget, bucking a long-running streak of funding cuts by President William Ruto’s government which had vowed to go slow on big-ticket projects to lower debt pressure.
The additional funds push the development budget of the State Department of Roads to Sh120.07 billion-- adding to the spending momentum that has picked up in the first six months of the current 2024/25 financial year.
As part of the added cash, the government has allocated an additional Sh1.737 billion for roads being constructed using the low-volume seal roads (LVSR) technology that was introduced by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2014.
In January 2023, President Ruto's government hinted that it would end the programme citing poor standards of the roads constructed using the technology.
But the government seems to have had a change of heart following an outcry due to reduced financing to a sector that has been a key driver of economic growth in the last decade.
Another major beneficiary of this enhanced allocation is the World Bank-funded South Sudan Eastern Africa Transport, Trade and Development Facilitation.
President William Ruto inspects section 1 of the 257km Lamu-Ijara-Garissa road on February 7, 2025.
This road--which is supposed to improve the movement of goods and people along the Lokichar-Nadapal and Nakodok part of the Eldoret-Nadapal and Nakodok road in the northwestern part of Kenya--will get an additional Sh5.2 billion from the multilateral financier.
Other road projects have suffered some cuts, but overall the State Department for Roads has recorded an increase in allocation.
Road projects have been the government's easy target whenever there is a mini-budget, a situation that has had wider ramifications on the economy.
Contraction of the construction sector in the second and third quarters of 2024, a performance last seen 22 years ago during the reign of the late President Danial arap Moi--together with low credit extension to the private sector--slowed down economic growth in the first three quarters of 2024.
The construction sector contracted for two consecutive quarters last year. It was a reflection of the significant budget cuts on mega infrastructure projects, particularly roads, by the Kenya Kwanza government as well as the high cost of building materials such as cement.
This jolted the government into action with the Treasury more than tripling disbursements of funds for the construction of roads and bridges over the six months that ended December 2024, bucking a trend of deep cuts over two years.
Construction work on Ngong-Suswa road in Kajiado County.
The State Department for Roads received Sh26.37 billion from the exchequer, the government’s main account, in the review period, a jump of 239.32 percent over Sh7.77 billion a year earlier.
In the run-up to the 2022 general elections, the Kenya Kwanza administration sought to stay clear of the mega projects as a means of reducing the country's debt burden.
But Mr Kenyatta scoffed at the suggestion, urging on his preferred presidential candidate, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, to continue borrowing to build big-ticket projects should he ascend to power. Mr Odinga lost to Dr Ruto.
dakure@ke.nationmedia.om
