Infrastructure projects must give value for money

Kenya has for years sunk billions of shillings in the construction industry hoping to deepen development, open up the hinterland and leverage mega projects to spur growth.

That is why Kenya injects in excess of Sh300 billion annually in  road infrastructure and more billions in the construction of houses. This is premised on the belief that this can achieve basic objectives of development including job creation, generate income and re-distribute revenue.

Clearly, this industry has become one of the strongest indicators of our economic performance and plays an important role in improving national welfare by transforming resources into facilities that benefit society at large. This calls for a closer scrutiny of the sector.

Kenyans are alive to the fact that billions of shillings have been lost over time, with the money benefitting a few individuals and their cronies.

That is why claims by the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu that the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) had failed to account for some Sh2.7 billion advanced to it rings an alarm bell.

Since KURA handles lots of money, the amount may sound small for an agency that is in charge of billions of taxpayers’ money. Claims that KURA did not separate accounts for such a sum of money, claiming that the funds were banked in the authority’s main bank’s account, raises a lot of accountability concerns due to lack of supportive documents.

It begs a lot of questions. For example, why the money was not supported with a cashbook, bank reconciliation statement and bank confirmation certificates, which can lead to concerns over the accuracy of the balance of Sh2.7 billion in the first place.

Further, the top auditor also warned in Parliament this month, that there was no value for money realised over the construction of the newly-built footbridge over the Eastern Bypass around City Cabanas area, as well as the maintenance of the Nairobi Outering Road.

The two prime roads that serve some of the most populous areas in  Nairobi have had issues with footbridges and many people have lost their lives on the roads. To have officials playing with money meant for such utilities is, therefore, a serious offence.

Aware that vandals targeting guard rails have been on the loose for years, why tempt them with a new set of metallic rails? So that they can steal them?

Project managers should have considered alternative means of safeguarding the rails or even considered using alternative materials to deter vandals.

Since improvement of non-motorised transport, installation of street and traffic lights, guard rails, traffic signs and other amenities are vital components of modern road infrastructure, KURA must come up with solutions instead of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Naming and shaming those vandalising public utilities will not help. Even arresting the vandals will not help much. Instead, use alternative materials or seal them completely. A freeze in scrap metal trade helped for a while, but the scam continues.

To make road infrastructure work for everyone, it is important for  those given the mandate by taxpayers to deliver, and those not interested must be shown the door.

With more money going into recurrent expenditure, this means that development projects are getting lesser and lesser, therefore the little resources available must be safeguarded and utilized for the purposes they are meant for.

In the Supplementary Budget for Financial Year 2022/23, the National Treasury proposed to cut development expenditure by Sh106.3 billion to Sh609 billion from the original budget of Sh715.3 billion.

We must ensure that those given the responsibility of managing the funds on behalf of taxpayers must utilise the resources in the best way possible.

—The writer is the Business Editor, People Daily