Detailed data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that the Jubilee administration led by President Uhuru Kenyatta inflated road projects as conduit to facilitate embezzlement of taxpayers’ money.
According to the data released, the Uhuru of Statistics-led administration used road construction projects as vehicles to budget for corruption.
President Kenyatta regime has spent nearly Sh1.5 trillion to build roads since 2013, leaving behind about 11,000 kilometres of thoroughfares to his credit.
A comparison between the Jubilee regimes and the previous Coalition Government revealed a preference for high-cost urban roads over more useful trunk roads, alongside increased costs per kilometre.
A review shows that the Jubilee administration spent Sh1.44 trillion on roads between June 2013 and March 2022.
The report further shows how the administration spent Sh614 billion on roads during its first term, 60 per cent more than its predecessor’s Sh376 billion.
Data from KNBS show that the expenditure on roads rose from Sh87.6 billion in 2013 to over Sh207 billion by last year.
The highest spending was recorded between 2017 and 2022, when the government splashed over Sh951 billion, compared to the Sh490 billion spent during the first term.
Measured in terms of length of roads or number of projects, road construction peaked in 2012, the last year of the coalition government, at 3,200 km of road under construction.
These roads constitute the bulk of the 5800 km of roads completed during the Jubilee administration’s first term.
In the first term (FY2013/14-FY17/18) the Jubilee administration initiated 80 road projects with a total of 3,120 km, which just about matches the roads that its predecessor had under construction at the end of its term.
The 3120 km of road commissioned by the Jubilee administration were contracted at a cost of Sh303 billion.
During the 2021/2022 financial year, the government spent a total of Sh186.9 billion on roads in the first nine months.
Last year the government budgeted Sh195.2 billion for road transport in the financial year 2021/22, including Sh94.7 billion for new roads and bridges, Sh36.1 billion for rehabilitation of old ones, and Sh54 billion for maintenance.
By the end of March, Sh101.17 billion in development spending and Sh85.76 recurrent spending had already been recorded, CoB reported.
Available KNBS data show that between 2005 and 2013, President Kibaki spent Sh474.9 billion on roads, about a third (34.8 per cent) of President Kenyatta’s spending.
During his last two years in office, President Kenyatta will have spent an amount equivalent to what President Kibaki spent on roads over eight years.
Kibaki’s highest spending on roads was in his last year of office when Sh117.6 billion was used, while during President Kenyatta’s tenure the highest expenditure was in 2018/19 and 2020/21 when Sh207 billion was spent each year.
If the cost increase were only due to inflation, the unit cost, excluding the high-cost roads, would be at most Sh64 million per km which is Sh16 million per km lower.
As observed at the outset, one of the corruption impacts is associated with the distortion of priorities where high return projects are crowded out by low return projects that have more corruption opportunities.