Chirchir laments about staring at Sh166B pending bills in transport docket as he faces vetting panel

Transport CS nominee Davis Chirchir has expressed concern over the Sh166 billion in pending bills while facing the vetting panel on Friday.

Despite boasting that the docket he previously led (Energy) had no pending bills except one, which is in court, the nominee noted that when approved he will be facing a major challenge in solving the arrears.

"Where I'm going, the Roads and Transport docket honourable members, it's an interesting area. It would be interesting to note that where I come from in energy or we have served twice before, we don't have any pending bills," Chirchir said before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments.

Chirchir, however, noted that if approved by the house, he will be welcomed at the Transport Ministry with pending bills of Sh166 billion. He told the committee that he would work closely with the National Assembly to see how best the pending bill can be addressed.

"We need to look at securitisation of the little revenue that we have in the road maintenance levy as we also explore other options together," Chirchir added.

He was responding to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula when he asked about the plans the nominee had to tackle pending bills.

The former CS for Transport Kipchumba Murkomen last month revealed that the Kenya Kwanza inherited a pending bill of Sh150 billion for road contracts across the country, a figure that has since risen by Sh15 billion.

"In March this year, I appraised this distinguished house about the situation at that time with regard to the development vote. I reported that the pending bills on various projects as of December 31, 2023, were Sh162.4 billion. The updated pending bills as of June 30, 2024, is Sh165 billion," he said.

Kenyans in various sub-counties have been causing uproar over stalled road projects. An audit conducted on government agencies as of June 30, 2023, has revealed that over Sh4.9 billion was disbursed for selected projects, yet no tangible outcomes were achieved.

The actual amount could potentially be higher, especially considering several large-scale projects that have been flagged without clear expenditure records.

Like many stalled initiatives, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has expressed concerns over substantial costs incurred through penalties and interest.

One prominently flagged case involves the Kisumu Africities Convention Centre project, where a contractor received Sh250 million, but no progress has been made since May 2022.

Initially scheduled for completion within 38 weeks starting July 16, 2021, with a revised deadline set for April 8, 2024, the Sh890 million convention complex faced delays due to payment issues.

By October 2023, the contractor had submitted a claim of Sh1.3 billion to the State Department for Public Works, citing losses and expenses resulting from work suspension since May 24, 2022.

Chirchir, a close ally of President William Ruto, previously served as Energy CS in former President Uhuru Kenyatta's first Cabinet in 2013.

He left office in 2015 after being implicated in a scandal but made a comeback in 2022 when Ruto was elected president.

Chirchir was, however, a casualty when President William Ruto on July 11, 2024, dismissed the Cabinet to pave the way for the formation of a "broad-based Government".