NAIROBI, Kenya, June 10 – Parliament’s Departmental Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation has called for the termination and blacklisting of contractors responsible for delays in key water and sanitation projects across the country.
The directive emerged during a meeting between the committee and the State Department for Water and Sanitation to review the implementation of the Kenya Towns Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Programme.
The programme, jointly funded by the Kenyan government and the African Development Bank, covers 58 towns and includes 61 water and sanitation projects valued at Sh45.5 billion.
According to the State Department, 12 projects have been completed and commissioned, while 26 are complete and awaiting commissioning. Another 22 projects remain under construction, with one project stalled due to a court case.
Lawmakers expressed concern over persistent delays, citing contractor underperformance, governance challenges among some water service providers, litigation and rising construction costs.
Committee Chairperson David Bowen Kangogo said contractors handling multiple projects despite repeated delays should face tougher sanctions to improve project delivery.
Water and Sanitation Principal Secretary Julius Korir told the committee that some contractors in areas such as Mandera and Meru had already been removed from projects due to inadequate capacity, with procurement of replacement contractors underway.
The committee also raised concerns about weak coordination between national and county governments, saying poor last-mile connectivity continues to limit access to water services even where infrastructure projects have been completed.
The water and sanitation programme is expected to create about 15,000 jobs during construction and operational phases.
Lawmakers said they will continue monitoring implementation to ensure public funds allocated to water infrastructure translate into improved service delivery.
