New budget report shows most government projects have stalled
By Mercy Mwai, March 18, 2025Most of the projects commissioned by government agencies have not been completed despite billions of shillings being pumped into them, a new report shows.
An analysis of the projects revealed that completion rates ranged from one to 20 percent, thus denying Kenyans adequate delivery of services.
In the report for the first six months of the 2024/2025 financial year, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o revealed a general delay in project implementation.
“Measures should be taken to address the [projects’] implementation challenges by [State agencies] with a view to [fast-tracking] the completion of all the affected multi-year projects whose completion rates are behind the target timelines,” the report says.
The National Police Service, for example, was allocated funds for various projects, but the money was not spent for various reasons and several of the projects stalled.
Title deeds
The projects, each worth Sh10 billion, include the construction of sub-county police headquarters in Kisumu West undertaken by National Government Constituencies Development Fund.
Three other projects stalled because of a lack of title deeds for the land designated for them.
Reads the report: “We recommend fast-tracking the acquisition of the title deeds to ensure the projects are completed by the end of FY 2024/25 as projected.”
Regarding State House projects worth Sh 7.6 billion, most of them are at different levels of completion, with the lowest recording one percent.
The report shows that refurbishing buildings at the Eldoret State Lodge, which started in 2015, is only five percent complete; at the Nairobi State House 44 percent; and at the Sagana State Lodge 27 percent.
Purchasing of a specialised plant, equipment and machinery at 47 percent; refurbishing buildings, a fence and the main house at the Mombasa State House at 30 percent, and at the Kakamega State Lodge 20 percent.
Further, refurbishing of buildings at the Kisumu State Lodge was 14 percent complete, and at the Nakuru State House 36 percent.
In other instances of stalled projects, no expenditure was recorded for the Kenya Affordable Housing Finance and Registration of Community Land in Isiolo South in the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, while geo-referencing land parcels was only 19 percent complete though the project started in July 2013.
Transport projects
Elsewhere, six development projects implemented by the State Department of Transport had run beyond their target completion dates.
The projects include developing the Nairobi Railway City (with a completion date of 30 June 2023); building a 2.8km metre-gauge rail link from the Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) terminus; and a railway bridge across the Makupa Causeway (with a completion date of 30 June 2024).
The others are revitalising the Gilgil-Nyahururu metre-gauge branch rail line (completion date of 30 June 2024) and the Kisumu-Butere line; construction of an access road to the Suswa SGR station, and to Maai Mahiu SGR station; and revitalising the Leseru-Kitale metre-gauge branch line.
Further, four development projects implemented by the State Department for Information, Communication Technology & Digital Economy were still underway as of 31 December, 2024.
These included maintaining and rehabilitating the NOFBI Phase II Cable (completion date of December 2018) and NOFBI Phase II Expansion (completion date of December 20); connectivity to Leather Industrial Park in Kenaine (completion date of December 22); and construction of KAIST at the Konza Technopolis (completion date of December 24).
Other projects showing delays include those implemented by the State Department for Higher Education and Research and the State Department for Basic Education.
A non-financial performance analysis revealed that infrastructure and equipment for public primary schools and for special-needs education services were behind schedule.
Under the State Department for Livestock Development, the report shows that four projects faced delays.
They included the Livestock Training Institute in Mogotio worth Sh500 million that was yet to start; livestock restocking in Baringo North (Sh60 million) was only 17 percent complete; establishing feedlots, fodder and pasture (Sh30 million) is 27 percent complete; and the Kenya commercialisation programme (Sh 6.2 billion) was 29 percent complete.
“We recommend that measures be taken to fast-track the implementation of multi-year projects,” the report says.
Reporting inconsistencies
Under the State Department for Vocational and Technical Training, the report says there were inconsistencies in the reporting of some key performance indicators.
Under the State Department for Wildlife, the report shows that projects worth Sh785 million were yet to be completed.
Among the projects in question included rehabilitating research and training facilities at the Naivasha headquarters (54 percent complete), and building and equipping four research and training centres (78 percent complete).
Others were the National Integrated Wildlife Data Portal (27 percent complete) and the Combating Wildlife Crime in Kenya Programme Project- USAID II (14 percent complete).
Under the State Department for Trade, a warehouse refurbishing project worth Sh232 million was behind the target completion date of March 2025, while under the State Department for ASALs and Regional Development, all projects (worth Sh4.4 billion) were behind the target completion timelines.
Revised values
Under the State Department of Industry, the report says that an analysis of the project implementation status revealed that projects’ estimated values were frequently revised.
For instance, the estimated cost of fencing 600 acres of National Meat Commission land, initially set at Sh200 million, was revised upward to Sh300 million this quarter as a result of presidential directives.
With regard to programmes under the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the report shows that most of them were behind schedule because commissioners had not been recruited.