Government to crack down on rogue contractors to curb project delays

The government will introduce a new policy framework to limit the number of national projects a contractor can bid for simultaneously in a decisive move aimed at ending widespread delays in project delivery.

During an inspection and verification tour of national government projects in Nakuru County, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Performance and Delivery Management Eliud Owalo announced that the government is responding to a disturbing trend where contractors are overstretching themselves by taking on more projects than they can handle.

“As government, we are going to come up with a policy framework — perhaps restricting the number of projects within a given jurisdiction that a contractor can bid for at the same time — so that we don’t have these inordinate delays occasioned by lack of capacity on the side of contractors,” Owalo said.

The Nakuru tour was part of a broader national oversight programme aimed at assessing the progress and effectiveness of government-funded initiatives.

According to Owalo, the government has observed that some contractors, after successfully securing multiple contracts, fail to deliver within the stipulated timelines despite having received milestone-based payments. He said that this inefficiency not only undermines the government’s commitment to timely service delivery but also violates public trust.

“We want to take this opportunity to caution contractors that we are not going to allow a situation where the government has met its full part of the bargain by making payments based on milestones as required, and yet the contractors still cannot meet their obligations in terms of delivery within the stipulated timelines,” he stated.

To address this, Owalo revealed that contractors who consistently underperform or fail to deliver on time will face blacklisting and disqualification from future government projects. This, he explained, is part of a broader government effort to enforce accountability and ensure that taxpayer resources are used effectively.

“Those types of contractors will be blacklisted and will be barred from taking up government projects in the future,” he warned.

Owalo underscored the government’s responsibility to the public, noting that once financial commitments have been fulfilled and contractors have been properly onboarded, failure to deliver will no longer be tolerated.

“As a government, we are responsible and accountable to the public. Once we have done our bit by onboarding a contractor and making sure that we make the financial payments as required based on attainment of the necessary milestones, we are not going to allow a situation where certain contractors still cannot perform because they have spread themselves thin by taking more jobs than they can absorb,” he emphasised.

The proposed policy, once approved by Cabinet, is expected to tighten procurement processes, enhance contractor accountability, and accelerate the completion of critical infrastructure and development projects across the country. It signals a firm shift in the government’s approach to project management, placing performance and capacity at the core of future contractor selection.