Transport projects face major setbacks due to significant budget cuts

Expansion ambitions for several airports and revitalization efforts for two major Meter Gauge Railway lines are in jeopardy following a Sh3.2 billion budget cut.

Transport Principal Secretary Mohammed Daghar has decried that the budget reduction will have a severe impact on ongoing and planned projects.

The state department budget was initially allocated Sh51.63 billion, whereas Sh35.23 billion was earmarked for development and Sh16.4 billion for recurrent expenditure.

However, revised estimates now allocate a reduced budget of Sh48.4 billion, with Sh32.01 billion for development and Sh16.2 billion for recurrent expenditures.

This reduction is part of the government's fiscal consolidation efforts following President William Ruto's rejection of the Finance Bill 2024, prompted by public outcry over heavy taxation witnessed last month.

"This reduction affects critical activities, including those aligned with President Ruto's Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda," Daghar explained while appearing before the National Assembly Committee for Transport on Wednesday.

Projects affected by the budget cuts include the expansion of the Malindi Airport which has lost the Sh147 million allocated and the Isiolo airport expansion project which would have cost Sh52 million.

The Kitale airstrip project allocated Sh70 million and the Migori airstrip, Sh140.8 million have been affected.

In September 2023, the government announced plans to spend Sh1 billion annually on the expansion and rehabilitation of airstrips across the country to boost tourism and improve passenger and cargo transport.

Former Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen noted the expansion is targeted at accommodating large aircraft.

"Our focus lies on funding and rehabilitating physical infrastructure, crafting modern air transport policies and regulations, enhancing safety measures, building capacity; and strengthening the institutions that oversee the sector," he said.

The State Department of Transport operates under five Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budgeting programs, covering air transport services, road transport safety and regulation, marine transport, rail transport, and general administration.

Going further, PS Daghar also noted that the Sh58.8 million revitalization of Leseru-Kitale Meter Gauge Railway (MGR) and Sh91 million for the Nairobi-Nanyuki (MGR) line as well as Sh90 million for the refurbishment of Transcom house, which houses the state department have also been scraped in the supplementary budget estimates.

The Nairobi Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) project has also been hit with a budget cut where out of an allocation of Sh1 billion, Sh418 million has been slashed.

The funds had been allocated for Line 2 which will be from Rongai-Bomas-Lang'ata Road-CBD-Ruiru-Thika and Kenol.

The Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system in Nairobi was part of the Big Four agenda by the Jubilee Government to improve the transport sector.

Kenyans have eagerly waited to see its implementation since its mention in 2018, which was followed by an act of 'government faith' of marking the bus-only lanes along Thika Superhighway while the buses are still nowhere in the picture up to date.

Also, Sh140 million which had been allocated for Smart Driving Licences has been scrapped.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) introduced the Smart Driving Licence in 2018.

The licence is issued for three years and is fitted with a chip that holds the driver's information and supports implementing a demerit point system.

Once the three years elapse, you must renew the license

In addition, funds amounting to Sh140 million and Sh332.6 million respectively, allocated for the Lapsset corridor resilience building programme and the Lapsset corridor master plan, have also been cut.

Daghar also pointed out that grants and transfers to Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (Sagas), such as the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), were reduced, impacting their operational capabilities.

"We are now faced with the challenge of prioritizing essential projects and ensuring that those already in progress are not derailed," the PS noted.

On July 5, 2024, President Ruto announced a Sh177 billion budget cut to seal the budget hole left after the withdrawal of the finance bill, 2024.

It came after protests led to the cancellation of contentious tax hikes, which has since resulted in the deaths of 50 people.

"We will be proposing to the National Assembly a budget cut of not the entire Sh346 billion, but a budget cut of  Sh177 billion and borrowing the difference (around 169 billion shillings)," Ruto said.