Billions lost as taxpayer-funded markets lie incomplete, vandalised

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has flagged widespread mismanagement of public funds injected into market projects across the country, with many lying incomplete, vandalised or unused years after construction began.

This comes even as President William Ruto continues to launch new market initiatives, including recent projects in Nyandarua and Laikipia counties, raising questions about the government’s commitment to transparency, project completion and value for money in its development agenda.

In her report for the 2023/2024 financial year, Gathungu highlighted the wastage of billions of shillings allocated to various county and national government market projects, revealing delays, abandoned works and poor planning across multiple regions.

In Kwale County, the Sh118 million Kombani Wholesale Market has been vandalised, with doors, windows and cold room machinery stripped. The market remains inaccessible due to a court order obtained by the contractor.

The original contract, signed on March 7, 2021, for Sh105.9 million, was later revised to Sh118 million before being terminated in November 2021. By then, the contractor had already received Sh95.3 million, including Sh9.5 million in retention money.

In Mandera County, a Sh339.6 million regional livestock market launched in May 2021 remains unutilised. The county government paid the contractor an additional Sh22 million in the current financial year.

In Isiolo County, the Sh545.2 million modern market remains incomplete, despite a payment of Sh366.6 million already made to the contractor.

Gathungu also flagged delays in the Sh42.9 million Ndagani Market project in Meru County. A contract signed in June 2023 stalled, and an audit conducted in September 2024 found no contractor on site. A ramp connecting floors was left exposed, making it vulnerable to vandalism.

“In the circumstances, the public did not realise value for money in the expenditure of Sh14,535,270,” reads the audit.

In Embu County, renovations at Manyatta Market remain incomplete. A Sh1.99 million contract signed on April 26, 2024, with a three-month completion timeline, failed to deliver. The contractor did not build a raised steel tank platform, supply and install a 1,000-litre water tank, or provide water connections, works estimated to cost Sh319,000.

In Turkana County, the Sh132 million modern business centre in Lodwar also remains stalled.

The Sh53.9 million Maralal Municipality Retail Market in Samburu County is still unused. The site is now overgrown with bushes, strewn with waste soil and covered in dilapidated iron sheets.

In Kericho County, the audit exposed the stalled Sondu Market project, launched in June 2019. The project has already consumed over Sh100.4 million out of a Sh128.9 million budget but remains incomplete.

In Migori County, several markets—including Kwiriba, Masaba, Midoti, Opapo Auction Ring, Oyani Masai, Mabera, Masangora, Kugitimo, Maeta, Ikerege, Olasi and Rongo, remain unfinished. Meanwhile, in Kisii County, the government spent Sh6.2 million on minor works in Kiony, Daroro and Mama Mboga markets, including latrine construction and small sheds.

In another Kericho County case, a Sh98 million ultra-modern market initiated in May 2009 under the Economic Stimulus Programme is falling apart, with cracks running through its floors and structural pillars.

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In Nakuru County, the Sh350 million Karai Fish Market, launched in 2021, remains incomplete. So far, the project has cost Sh107 million—Sh89 million for a market shed, Sh9 million for a borehole and Sh9 million for fencing.

Despite the growing list of abandoned or stalled projects, the government maintains that continued investment is necessary for future development.

While on a recent tour of Mt Kenya, President Ruto commissioned eight new markets in Nyandarua County and announced an additional Sh50 million for two others in Sipili and Kimuruti, Laikipia County.

The expansion of market infrastructure comes even as previous projects remain underutilised or derelict.

Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, during a 2024 development tour in Nakuru, defended the ongoing construction of new markets despite the state of existing ones.

“How do you ask that, since some markets are not utilised, we’ve started constructing others? Markets will be built, and more than 20 markets will be constructed here. People need them,” Mwaura said.

He revealed that the government allocated at least Sh2 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year for market construction.

“Even if the markets are not immediately utilised, they will be in the years to come. The government’s focus is on the future,” he added.