Government to clear road contractors’ bills
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The Government has mobilized Sh139 billion to clear certified outstanding bills owed to road contractors and accelerate implementation of ongoing road projects across the country.
Payments for eligible works completed in the last quarter are expected to begin on August 21 and be completed by August 28, Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS), Davis Chirchir has said.
Chirchir said the financing programme was necessary as conventional Exchequer allocations remain insufficient to meet the cost of ongoing road works and accumulated obligations.
The CS spoke during a meeting with road contractors, engineers and technical officers from the State Department for Roads and its implementing agencies.
Under the first Phase of the financing programme, the government leveraged Sh7 per litre of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund to mobilize Sh175 billion, which enabled the settlement of pending bills for certified works and eligible interest obligations up to March 2026.
The move allowed contractors whose projects had slowed due to delayed payments to resume work.
Chirchir said the government had received the first tranche of the current programme and was expecting the next tranche shortly, paving the way for payments to contractors.
“We are not simply clearing yesterday’s pending bills. Our objective is to stop creating tomorrow’s pending bills,” he said.
He assured contractors that payments would be processed through an established framework based on properly measured, verified and certified claims.
The CS urged contractors to remain on site and accelerate project implementation while adhering to contractual requirements on time, cost and quality.
Chirchir, however, explained that there would be no preferential treatment in processing payments, noting that only properly certified and eligible claims would be paid under the approved framework.
“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.
He also directed engineers and technical officers to take full responsibility for the quality, cost and scope of road projects and further called for proper measurement, inspection and certification of works, cautioning technical officers against certifying work they could not professionally defend.
“Certify only work that you can professionally defend,” he said.
The CS has also directed road agencies to strengthen project preparation before procurement, particularly in design development, site investigations and verification of quantities.
He warned that issues, including exhausted contract quantities, premature road failure and unjustified certification must be addressed before construction, noting that such shortcomings would attract professional accountability.
The CS said the government’s responsibility was to mobilise resources and provide a predictable financing framework, while contractors must execute and deliver projects and engineers safeguard quality and value for money.
Also present were Principal Secretary (PS) 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 Otsula.
By Wangari Ndirangu
Reporting originally appeared via Kenya News Agency. Read the full source for additional context.