Monitoring and evaluation of public projects to cost Sh6.7bn

Construction of the Nakuru High Courts. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By LYNET IGADWAH

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Summary

• The taxpayer will have to part with Sh6.7 billion to finance the operations of the State's monitoring and evaluation (M&E) teams if the proposals are adopted.
• The teams are to ensure that projects are executed within timelines, cut wastage and reduce the number unfinished projects.

The move to set up units that ensure timely execution of public projects is set to come at an enormous cost, proposals made by the National Treasury indicate.

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The taxpayer will have to part with Sh6.7 billion to finance the operations of the State's monitoring and evaluation (M&E) teams if the proposals are adopted.

The teams are to ensure that projects are executed within timelines, cut wastage and reduce the number unfinished projects.

The Treasury has also drafted a policy that guides the vetting and approval of public projects in efforts to promote prudent use of resources and tame wastage.

The policy recommends that each ministry and agency dedicate at least one per cent of their development budget to monitoring and evaluation.

In the year ending June, 2019, the Treasury allocated development expenditure Sh671.6 billion, meaning that the total amount to be set aside will be Sh6.7 billion.

“The policy recommends each ministry and agency to have a separate M&E budgetary allocation to cater for monitoring and evaluation activities. At least one per cent of the development budget will be set aside for M&E work,” said planning principal secretary Julius Muia.

Government projects have often stalled even after gobbling up millions of taxpayers money due to poor feasibility studies, resource mismanagement or corrupt practices.

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Some of these projects include the Mitihani House building in South B that has stalled for 28 years and which Auditor- General Edward Ouko said requires an estimated extra Sh2.6 billion to complete.

Another one is the Sh65.4 billion Greenfield terminal project at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where taxpayers paid Sh4.3 billion to a Chinese contractor following the cancellation of contract.

Parliament has also questioned the Kenya Airports Authority over the Sh8.9 million spent on construction of an ablution block and security offices at Wilson Airport that was terminated two weeks to completion after Sh3.1 million was spent.

Other stalled projects include a fertiliser factory in Mombasa that was never built despite being allocated Sh6.3 billion and construction of 144 three bedroom houses for military officers at Kenyatta Barracks in Gilgil that been pending for 13 years.