Sh10 Billion Idle Road Money Raises Alarms as Projects Stall Across Kenya

Parliament Questions Idle Sh10 Billion Road Money as Projects Crumble

A recent probe by the National Assembly’s Special Funds Accounts Committee (SFAC) has exposed a disturbing contradiction: while road projects across the country remain incomplete or abandoned, the National Treasury returned Sh10.35 billion in unutilized road annuity funds to the Consolidated Fund.

The funds, collected from Kenyans via a Sh3 fuel levy per litre, were meant to support road infrastructure under the Road Annuity Programme.

This model allows private contractors to design, build, and maintain roads, while the government pays back the investment in installments over time. It was supposed to solve funding bottlenecks. Instead, it’s creating new ones.

According to Roads Principal Secretary Joseph Mbugua, the law permits the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury to declare surpluses in the fund.

He confirmed that the Sh10.35 billion declared as surplus (Sh8.45 billion and Sh1.9 billion) was reabsorbed into the general development budget under Article 223 of the Constitution. But this explanation did not sit well with Parliament.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu pointed out that during the financial year 2022/23, the government only spent 47 percent of the approved Sh7.68 billion budget under the annuity fund.

That’s just Sh3.63 billion. The rest was left untouched, even as citizens continued to suffer the consequences of broken or unfinished roads.

The committee, chaired by Migori Woman Representative Fatuma Mohammed, is now pressing for answers. Why was the money idle while contractors downed tools due to non-payment?

Who authorized the surplus declaration, and how was the reallocated money actually used? The silence from key ministries has been deafening.

Contractors Abandon Sites While Funds Rot in Central Bank

In various counties across Kenya—from Kisii to Kitui and Turkana to Tharaka Nithi—roadworks have either slowed to a crawl or stopped entirely. Many contractors have cited non-payment and cash flow issues as the primary reasons for abandoning projects.

Yet, this happens while the annuity funds earmarked for these same roads were returned to the treasury unspent. Contractors typically borrow from banks to complete roadworks with the promise of government repayments through the annuity model.

If the government delays payments, interest piles up, making projects financially unsustainable for contractors. This defeats the very purpose of the programme.

The Annuity Fund was created in 2015 as an alternative financing method to relieve pressure from direct government spending. However, the recent revelations raise critical concerns about whether the fund is serving its intended purpose or merely sitting as a dormant pool of capital.

The consequences are visible everywhere: impassable rural roads, unfinished bypasses, delayed economic zones. The Ministry of Roads blames bureaucratic delays and oversight procedures. But the committee wants accountability, not excuses.

Calls Grow for Transparency and Structural Reforms

Kenya’s infrastructure ambitions are being choked not by lack of funds, but by poor fund management. The Sh10 billion idle road money saga is just one example of how inefficiencies in the public finance system hinder development.

The fact that such a large sum was available yet unused speaks to a deeper dysfunction. SFAC is now demanding full disclosure of how the reallocated Sh10.35 billion was spent under the general development budget.

Kenyans deserve to know whether the money ended up building new roads, maintaining old ones, or disappearing into unrelated projects.

Auditor General Gathungu’s audit has raised red flags that must not be ignored. The underperformance in expenditure reflects a system that’s unable to translate budgets into action.

Road users—especially in rural areas—are left stranded, their hopes dashed by unfulfilled promises. There’s also the urgent need to review the structure of the Road Annuity Fund itself.

If the fund’s design allows for billions to go unused while road projects remain incomplete, then the regulatory framework needs urgent fixing.

Conclusion

The issue of Sh10 billion idle road money is not just a budgeting oversight—it’s a national disgrace.

In a country where poor roads are a barrier to economic growth, education, and health access, such financial mismanagement is unacceptable.

Parliament is right to ask hard questions. Now, the Ministries of Roads and Treasury must offer more than legal explanations—they must deliver action. The Kenyan taxpayer deserves roads, not excuses.