At least 400 development projects across 14 state departments valued at Sh662.9 billion have stalled, the National Treasury says in a report to Parliament.
According to the disclosure, the State Departments for Transport, Irrigation, Education, Housing and Interior account for the highest number of abandoned projects, which cumulatively stand at 442.
The projects, including airports, power transmission lines, markets, university hostels, dams, irrigation schemes, office blocks and police and prison stations have stalled, having gobbled more than Sh124 billion of taxpayers’ money.
The report submitted to the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee shows that the government estimates to spend Sh786,917,038,531 on the 442 stalled projects.
The delayed or abandoned projects strewn across the country have consumed Sh124,001,568,687, the Treasury schedule shows.
The document, tabled by Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo, shows that the 442 projects require Sh662,915,469,844 to complete.
The stalled projects date back to 2006 during President Mwai Kibaki’s administration and those started by his successor Uhuru Kenyatta .
“I wish to table the list of all stalled projects, including the costs and the amounts spent,” Dr Kiptoo said when he appeared before the National Assembly team.
“We are undertaking a comprehensive assessment of stalled and/or abandoned projects. Once completed, we will develop a Cabinet memo that will provide directions on how to proceed.”
Dr Kiptoo appeared before the team chaired by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro to respond to issues raised by departmental committees during the scrutiny of the Budget Policy Statement that was approved by Parliament on Wednesday.
The list presented by Dr Kiptoo shows that the State Department for Transport had stalled projects valued at Sh65.78 billion at the end of June 2022.
The incomplete projects comprise the Sh60.4 billion Greenfield Terminal where the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) paid Sh4.3 billion for the Chinese-funded second runway that never took off.
KAA also has nine stalled airports, airstrips and taxiways that cumulatively require Sh1.08 billion to complete.
Under the Ministry of Transport, Kenya Railways Corporation requires Sh2.53 billion to complete the relocation of housing units in Kibra and Mukuru, Nairobi.
The relocation has already gobbled Sh8.33 billion, MPs were informed.
In the State Department for Education, a total of Sh3.996 billion is required to complete Mitihani House, a project launched more than 36 years go.
The Energy Ministry, which has spent Sh5.62 billion on the Lesos-Tororo transmission line, needs Sh3.19 billion to complete.
The official data submitted to the committee show that the Interior Ministry needs Sh4 billion to complete police housing, Sh3 billion for police stations and Sh1 billion to expand Kenya Police College and Kenya Police Service College.
The National Treasury needs Sh1.59 billion to complete two projects. It requires Sh922.76 million to complete the upgrade and integration of the pensions management system and Sh668 million to install security systems at Bima House.
The State Department for Higher Education and Technical Vocational Education Training requires millions of shillings to complete 125 stalled projects and six institutes.
The projects, spread across various universities, include libraries, lecture halls, hostels and ICT centres.
At the Housing Ministry, some 42 economic stimulus package markets have stalled while the State Department for Water requires millions of shillings to complete 11 projects that include dams and pans.
The high number of stalled state-initiated projects has caught the eye of the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
“We have established that some of the projects have to incur additional costs due to breaches of agreements between the government and contractors,” PAC chairman and Nominated MP John Mbadi said.
President Ruto said the government “is starting afresh so that stalled projects are completed within two years to address the wastage of resources”.
“No new project will be launched before we complete the running ones,” Dr Ruto said during the commissioning of the Othaya Sewerage Project – Last Mile Connectivity – in Nyeri County on August 7.
They ended up as white elephants after transition to the devolved system of governance in 2013, when Mr Kenyatta and his deputy Ruto took power.
County governments failed to set aside and allocate money for projects started or were ongoing in the second and last term of Kibaki.
The huge number of stalled projects, which comes with delayed payments to contractors, is a major contributor to the cash crunch in the private sector.
A Parliamentary Budget Office report on the 2024 Budget policy Statement shows that the government had by last June spent more than Sh3.9 trillion on projects in nine sectors, with the estimated balance to complete all the projects launched before June 2023 put at Sh4.18 trillion.
“The government is overseeing more than 4,500 projects at various stages of development, with some of the earliest initiatives dating back to pre-2010,” the PBO said.
“To successfully complete these projects, the government estimates a financial requirement that exceeds Sh4.2 trillion.”
The report shows that by last June, the energy, ICT and infrastructure sectors accounted for the highest spending on public projects at Sh1.64 trillion.
They were followed by public administration and international relations, where the government had already invested Sh1.2 trillion in projects that are yet to be completed.
