Visits to Kenya’s stalled projects expose rot, wastage 

The pungent, fetid smell that engulfs Kinanie area, Machakos County is the only giveaway that the area is at the heart of a stalled project that would immensely change the lives of the residents in this area. They would once again inhale fresh, unpolluted air if an effluent treatment plant at the Kenya Leather Park- Kenanie is completed. But their hope to be soon freed of the fusty odour that has riddled their area is fading out by the tick of the clock.

Enclosed in a perimeter wall, the plant consists of idling installed machines and empty tanks. A stream of contaminated water snakes through this village that hopes for a lasting solution. Helplessly, the village soaks in the humidity of the hot-dry weather of this part of the county, and the smell from the effluent is as noisome as it can get.

The Kenya Leather Development Corporation (KLDC) and EPZA in February 2017 jointly contracted a local contractor to build a modern common effluent treatment plant at Kenya Leather Park- Kenanie, Machakos County.

The project cost Sh2,265,324,226. The work commenced on March 15, 2017, and was due for completion by September 18, 2018. This would later be revised to June 28, 2021. Yet, as of this week, the project is not close to call.

An official at EPZA intimated to the Sunday Nation that the project is 80 per cent complete but lack of funding and a “slight disagreement” with payment makes it impossible for the project to be completed.

A contractor/casual on site told the Nation: “Today we’re about 20 here but from next week only five will report here. The payments are delayed and we can’t keep having workers here.”

Kiambu

In Kiambu’s Theta ward, whenever it rains, disaster descends too as vehicles get stuck in the mud and have to be pulled out days later. But even now that it is dry, the dusty road spells disaster to Magomano area residents.

This is after construction of the Kimbo-Matangini Road, at a price of Sh170,552,895 stalled, a spot check by Sunday Nation last Thursday revealing that the stretch gets worse as one drive further from Kimbo to Junction before it is dusty from the junction –some 3km– to Magomano. And there was no contractor on site. 

At the Kenya School of Law, a library that was to be completed in 2016 is now 92 per cent complete. 

KSL Director Henry Mutai says the current library operates under very constrained physical and human resources including reading space, shelving space, office space, Electronic Resource Centre, washrooms, and processing room.

“There is very limited space to accommodate modern technology to enable modern learning,” he said. “At the initial stages, there were considerable delays in getting the necessary design approvals from the County Government of Nairobi, which meant progress was slow. This dragged on up to 2019 when the necessary approvals were finally received and construction picked up speed.  Unfortunately, in March 2020, the Covid pandemic happened which meant that there was another slow-down in the pace of construction.”

Kirinyaga

In Kirinyaga County, the construction of two Sh20 million markets by the county stalled leaving a shell ruled by emptiness, where normally, business activities would be teeming, benefitting about 1,000 traders. 

They have been abandoned at isolated places in Kerugoya and Kimbimbi areas, where the Sunday Nation established no activity goes on and have now turned into a target for vandals and drug addicts, who have invaded the half-built structures and vandalized them, dimming even the slightest hope that they will benefit traders.

“It was an immense government investment but sadly, the funds have gone to waste. Markets are busy places but in this case, there are no sellers of commodities or buyers. The markets have been abandoned and if there is no urgent intervention they may turn out to be hiding places for dangerous criminals,” Mr John Mwangangi, a trader says.

The traders said failure to consult them before projects were undertaken saw the county build the structures far from where business activities happen, rendering them unusable.
“The markets are located where they can’t be accessed easily by customers and they are not viable for business,” said Mr Samuel Mwangi, chairman of Kerugoya town traders.

Kisumu

As one enters the lakeside city of Kisumu through the Kakamega-Kisumu highway, the one-kilometre stretch on the dual carriageway has become an eyesore and a disgrace to the splendour of the third largest city in the country, as the Sh2.6 billion project started 2017 stalled on poor funding and change of contractors.

Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) regional director Julius Mak’Oderoh now says the road will be completed in June 2023 having affected motorists for over six years, but that is until Treasury releases funding.
“The contractor is already on site and working on the installation of the crash barrier and laying of the second bitumen (asphalt concrete) in order to make it safe and motorable to withstand the heavy traffic flow on the busy highway,” he said.

Lack of funds has also stalled the Sh1.3 billion works at Ahero-Kisii Interchange which continues to remain in dilapidated state years after commissioning.

On the other hand, Moi Stadium in Kisumu which was scheduled to start renovation in June 2019 at a cost of Sh90 million is also yet to commence over three years after the stadium was closed, affecting sporting activities for a stadium that hosted major Kenya Premier League matches.

Homa Bay

In Homa Bay, despite President William Ruto’s promise to resume the construction of multimillion-shilling roads that have stalled for years in his January visit, nothing has happened yet, leaving the projects including the 44-kilometre Kanyadhiang-Pala-Kadel ring road launched in 2018 by Dr Ruto in 2018 when he was deputy president, still an eyesore.

Sunday Nation visits revealed no work was going on, even as Homa Bay residents keep refreshing their hope on soon completion to give them access to markets and better connect them with the country.
Mr Jared Buoga, a senior director at the Presidential Delivery Unit in Nyanza and Western Region said the project should begin in the last quarter of the current financial year. 

“Work should resume after Kenha gets funds. Currently, the government is focused on addressing other issues like drought which is a priority need,” he said.

Another project is the Sh2.9 billion 74-kilometre Mbita-Sindo-Kiabuya-Sori road that will connect fishing villages along the shores of Lake Victoria in Homa Bay and Migori counties, which stalled just a few kilometres after the start of work in 2015.  

“We normally take five hours on the road over a distance that should take one hour. Most fishermen have ended up discarding fish when the delicacy goes bad because of bad roads,” Mr Onditi said.

Siaya

The much-publicized state-of-the-art stadium in Siaya County, whose construction started in 2019 with an estimated 10 months duration, also stalled and has been a major source of debate on different platforms on social media.

It remains at 80 per cent completion, and local football, basketball, athletics and boxing clubs, which would benefit from using the facility to sharpen talents within Siaya county, feel it has taken too long.

“This was one of the projects we knew would be completed on time when the former governor Cornel Rasanga was still in power. We are still waiting though from the look of things it will not be completed anytime soon,” said Mr Reagan Obudho, a local football trainer.

Locals now say metals used for the construction of the stadium are already being eaten by rust and the hope of ever benefitting from it are dwindling.

Also, the stadium which was originally planned to cost Sh394 million could end up costing more due to the delays that have seen inflation catch up.

“Metals used in erecting the pillars are rusting. There are no engineers on site, sometimes you only find two builders trying to work on site, maybe it will take another ten years,” says Mr Thomas Otieno, a local boda boda rider. 

Nakuru

In Nakuru, at least a million residents of Kuresoi, Molo, Njoro, Rongai and Nakuru Town, Kericho and Baringo still wait for the completion of Sh38 billion Itare Dam, whose construction started in 2016, but stalled abruptly in 2019 after it was rocked by graft allegations and the contractor- Italian firm CMC di Ravena- filed for bankruptcy, after pocketing Sh22 billion.

On the site, critical activities such as reservoir construction, pipeline and tunnel remain undone, as only the dam foundation, water treatment plant and an outlet tunnel had been done and Nakuru County Government has been forced to rely on boreholes to supply its residents with water, to battle an ever-present shortage.

At the cash-strapped Egerton University’s main campus in Njoro, as students and workers struggle with a bad state of affairs that has grown to see the institution of higher learning start laying off staff, a Sh560 million Agriculture Laboratories Complex that broke ground about 33 years ago- in April 1990- stalled at 31 per cent on failed government funding.

The project is part of the many that have littered Egerton University with white elephants that can now not benefit the country, or its students, with the facilitation of proper agricultural research and learning. Others are a Sh110 million proposed teaching complex, a modern library (Sh10 million), a security control checkpoint and associated buildings (Sh5.9 million), a physical science complex (Sh33.4 million) and renovation of student hostels and pavements (Sh1.3 million).

But the ultimate heartbreaker in the new city county is an abandoned trauma centre at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital, started after the 2009 Sachangwan tragedy that claimed 130 lives to provide traumatic care for different sets of patients, but which remains a breeding ground for tall grass after abandonment 12 years later.

The structure has no doors or windows and inside the deserted iron sheet-fenced compound building materials including timber, construction blocks and sand beg to be used.

As the national and county governments distance themselves from the critical facility that stalled at the advent of devolution, the Nakuru Level Five Hospital struggles to deal with trauma patients, and residents are unhappy.
Senate’s County Public Investments and Special Funds committee chairman, Godfrey Osotsi, says the solution to stalled projects in counties is by Treasury releasing funds timely and a complete crackdown on corruption cartels.

“The two main reasons for stalled projects are corruption and delayed disbursement of funds to counties. EACC and DPP should expeditiously act on corruption cases. The national government should ensure counties receive funding as per the expenditure schedule approved by the senate to avoid challenges related to late disbursement,” Mr Osotsi says.

In the undertaking of this project, the Sunday Nation also sought responses from several government agencies that directly deal with the investment of public funds, including the National Treasury and the National Assembly’s budget committee.
Both Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u and National Assembly’s budget and appropriations committee chairman Ndindi Nyoro did not respond.

In Lodwar, the construction of a Sh814 million High Court started in 2013 expected to take two years, but construction stalled just a year later never to resume again. 

On the ground there are several pillars and heaps of ballasts at the deserted site with a perimeter of iron sheets, the only thing to show for Sh124.5 million pumped into the project.

Uasin Gishu

In Uasin Gishu County, pregnant women have been forced to seek delivery services from traditional attendants with the construction of Ziwa hospital having stalled, forcing residents to travel long distances in search of health services.
“We forced to seek treatment at MTRH or county referral hospital. Some women go to traditional birth attendants nearby,” said Kevin Rotich, a local from Ziwa, Soy sub county. 

The construction of Burnt Forest Level Five Hospital also stalled over five years ago, with an incomplete structure the only thing left, as implementation drags.

In Nandi County, the Sh7.8 Billion Keben Water Dam in Nandi Hills which was to be completed during the tenure of President Kenyatta and local leaders wanted it revived to serve and supply water to the over one million people in the county, remains stalled. 

In Tigania East, Meru, two proposed dams, the Sh83 million Thangatha dam and Ntubutia Dam which was allocated Sh200 million remain a mirage, yet they were expected to serve thousands of residents with water supply.

The building of 10 markets at a cost of Sh300 million in Meru between 2010 and 2016 that were expected to boost traders and farmers has not helped residents after they refused to occupy them.

Tharaka-Nithi

In Tharaka Nithi County, several projects have stalled for years including Sh400 million for county government executive offices and Sh360 million for county assembly chambers and office buildings in Kathwanwa which started in 2015.

The Sh37 million Marimanti Law Court building, launched by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga in 2012 to enhance the image of the institution also stalled in 2015, while in Maara constituency, tarmacking of the Sh978.6 million 23-kilometre Chogoria-Weru road that was launched on November 22, 2016, and targeted to be complete by November 2018 but stalled at 2.1 kilometres.

In Kirinyaga, two Sh20 million markets funded by the county government, which would host about 1,000 traders, stalled.
In Mandera County, a sewerage infrastructure project at an initial cost of Sh1.1 billion initiated by Tana Water Services and funded by the African Development Bank and the national government, which started in November 2018 and would have been completed by April 2020 stalled at 72 per cent on insecurity concerns by the contractor, leaving over 250,000 residents unserved.

The Banisa Police Housing project has also stalled, a project started in 2016. “We only move whenever money is available. For the past three years nothing has come in for construction and that is where we are as for now,” a source said.

In the neighbouring Wajir County, police officers have been forced to live in tents at Buna Police station, after construction of proper houses stalled in 2021, nine years after the contract was awarded.

“We are exposed to a lot of danger considering this is an area that is prone to insecurity. In most of the cases we are the target and lack of proper housing puts us at more risk,” an officer said.

- Reporting by Daniel Ogetta, Gitonga Marete, George Munene , Manase Otsialo, Alex njeru, Tom Matoke, Stanley Kimuge, Sammy Lutta, Eric Matara, Kassim Adinasi, George Odiwuor, Victor Raballa and George Munene