The Kenyan government has warned it will terminate contracts for contractors overseeing stalled road projects and reassign them to capable competitors. Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir issued the threat while addressing residents during the Agolomuok-Otati-Kogore tarmacking. The move follows payments to clear pending bills and revive over 500 projects nationwide.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has warned that the government will terminate contracts for contractors overseeing stalled road projects and hand them over to competitors capable of delivery. He made the remarks while addressing residents during the tarmacking of the Agolomuok-Otati-Kogore road on Friday.
Reports indicate over 500 stalled projects nationwide, representing more than Ksh2 trillion in wasted investment. These include impassable roads, incomplete hospitals, and abandoned schools that could have transformed communities but now serve as symbols of inefficiency.
Chirchir explained that pending bills spanning 10 to 15 years, where contractors were not paid, forced them to halt work. "We have pending bills spanning 10 to 15 years, where contractors were not being paid, which forced them to put a halt to the job," he said.
The government has now brought contractors back to work and is processing payments regularly, eliminating excuses for non-performance. "As we speak today, we have brought contractors back to work, and there will be no excuse for any contractor not performing because we are paying them," Chirchir added.
The pending bills crisis peaked at Ksh525 billion by September 2025, with state corporations owing Ksh406 billion. The National Treasury allocated Ksh229 billion in the current budget to settle verified pending bills, prioritizing the road sector at Ksh763 billion.
By December 2025, the government cleared Ksh123 billion in road sector arrears, reviving approximately 875 stalled road projects. President William Ruto confirmed these payments, and the Cabinet stated that the program has accelerated 875 road contracts since April 2025.
The stalled projects date back to the Kibaki, Kenyatta, and Ruto administrations, including high-profile failures like the Arror and Kimwarer dams. Successful completion of these projects promises better roads for transporting goods, functional hospitals, and economic opportunities in communities.
