Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has announced that the government has cleared all pending payments owed to road contractors, paving the way for the resumption of stalled infrastructure projects across the country.
Speaking in Mwala, Machakos County, on Wednesday, Kindiki said the state had settled Sh177 billion in outstanding contractor debts, unlocking the completion of road projects that had stalled since 2019.
“Contractors are right now back to complete stalled roads across the country. We are constructing 6,000 kilometres of roads which have stalled for close to six years,” he said.
The Deputy President spoke during the commissioning of the tarmacking of the Miseleni–Katheka–Kwa Mwaura road, a Sh622 million project expected to link Mwala Constituency to Thika in Kiambu County.
Kindiki said the government was now financially stable enough to resume major development projects after spending the first two and a half years of President William Ruto’s administration reviving the economy.
“When Ruto took over as president, the economy was bad, and for two and a half years, we didn’t have money for road construction as a government,” Kindiki said.
He recalled that the Kenya Kwanza administration took office at a time when Kenyans were struggling with the high cost of living, including maize flour prices that had hit Sh250 for a two-kilogramme packet.
According to Kindiki, the government initially prioritised stabilising the economy, lowering fertiliser prices and boosting agriculture before shifting focus back to infrastructure development.
“But now, we have funds for constructing roads across the country. All contractors in Kenya who had their outstanding debts owed by the government have been cleared,” he said.
The Deputy President added that several new roads in the Ukambani region and other parts of the country had already been earmarked for tarmacking.
He urged contractors to prioritise local youth in job opportunities created by the projects, saying development should directly benefit surrounding communities.
Beyond roads, Kindiki also outlined key water and electricity projects being rolled out in Machakos County.
He said the government was implementing the Sh1.7 billion Mwala Bulk Water Project, which is expected to supply five million litres of water daily to more than 100,000 homes in Mwala and Matungulu subcounties through a pipeline linked to Kiambu County.
“The pipeline is almost complete. The project will supply five million litres of water every day. It will supply 100,000 homes. We mean business,” Kindiki said.
He further revealed that the government had allocated Sh1.4 billion to connect 10,800 households in Machakos County to electricity.
