NAIROBI, Kenya – Members of Parliament have voiced concerns over the return of Sh10.35 billion from the Road Annuity Fund to the Consolidated Fund, despite the ongoing delays in road projects across the country due to a lack of payments to contractors.
During a session of the National Assembly’s Special Funds Accounts Committee (SFAC), MPs were surprised to learn that large sums allocated to the Road Annuity Fund remained unused at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), even as road projects faced continued delays.
The fund, established in 2015 under the Public Finance Management (Roads Annuity Fund) Regulations, was intended to finance road development and maintenance through a public-private partnership model.
Despite the allocation of funds via a Sh3 per litre fuel levy, a significant portion of the Road Annuity Fund remained idle during the 2022/23 financial year.
Roads Principal Secretary Joseph Mbugua explained that the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary had the authority to declare a surplus and return funds to the Consolidated Fund, as was the case with the Sh10.35 billion.
This surplus, he said, was used to support ongoing projects under the regular development budget.
However, the Auditor General, Nancy Gathungu, had previously raised concerns over the under-utilization of the fund.
Her report for the 2022/23 financial year revealed that out of an allocated budget of Sh7.681 billion, only Sh3.634 billion was spent, marking an absorption rate of just 47%.
Gathungu noted that this underperformance affected the planned activities of the fund and could have negatively impacted service delivery.
When pressed by the committee, PS Mbugua clarified that disbursements were subject to approval by the Roads Annuity Oversight Committee.
He further explained that the surplus had been reallocated to pay for road projects approved by Parliament in the 2022/23 Supplementary Estimates.
Despite the government’s plans to develop 10,000 kilometers of roads under the public-private partnership model, MPs, particularly Committee Chair Fatuma Mohammed, questioned why the funds were returned to the Treasury while contractors remained unpaid, and projects continued to stall.
The situation has raised concerns over the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds, with calls for a more effective and transparent approach to managing the Road Annuity Fund and ensuring that road projects are completed on time.
