Government Mobilises Ksh. 139Billion to Clear Contractors’ Bills and Accelerate Ongoing Projects
Government Mobilises Ksh. 139Billion to Clear Contractors’ Bills and Accelerate Ongoing Projects
NAIROBI, 19th AUGUST 2026 — The Government has mobilised Ksh139 billion to
clear certified outstanding bills owed to road contractors and accelerate ongoing road projects across the country, with payments for eligible works from the last quarter expected to commence on 21 August 2026 and be completed by 28 August 2026.
Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Hon. Davis Chirchir announced the measures today during a meeting with road contractors, engineers and technical officers from the State Department for Roads and its implementing agencies.
Under Phase I, the Government leveraged KSh7 per litre of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund to mobilise a total of Ksh175 billion, enabling the settlement of all pending bills certified works and eligible interest obligations up to March 2026 which enabled contractors resume projects that had slowed.
He confirmed that the Government had received the first tranche of the current programme and expects the next tranche shortly, paving the way for payments to contractors from this week.
CS Chirchir said the financing programme was necessary because conventional Exchequer allocations remain insufficient to meet the cost of ongoing road works and accumulated obligations.
“We are not simply clearing yesterday’s pending bills. Our objective is to stop creating tomorrow’s pending bills,” the CS said.
He assured contractors that payments under the new programme would be processed through an established framework based on properly measured, verified and certified claims. He urged contractors to remain on site and accelerate implementation, while meeting contractual requirements on time, cost and quality.“There should be no middlemen and no preferential treatment. If a certificate is properly certified and eligible, it should be processed in accordance with the approved payment framework,” he said.
The CS also directed engineers and technical officers to take full responsibility for the quality, cost and scope of road projects.
He emphasized the need for proper measurement, inspection, and certification of works, cautioning technical officers against certifying work that they cannot professionally defend. “Certify only work that you can professionally defend,” he said. Further directed road agencies to strengthen project preparation before procurement, particularly design development, site investigations and verification of quantities.
Chirchir warned that exhausted contract quantities, premature road failure or unjustified certification must be addressed before construction, stressing that such shortcomings would attract professional accountability.
The CS said the Government’s role is to mobilise resources and provide a predictable financing framework, while contractors must execute and deliver projects and engineers must safeguard quality and value for money.
Present were Principal Secretary for Roads Eng. Joseph Mbugua; Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) Director General Eng. Luka Kimeli; Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) Director General Eng. Jackson Magondu; and Kenya Roads Board (KRB) Director General Judith Otsyula.