Members of Parliament expressed concerns over financial discrepancies in the Kenya National Highways Authority's (KeNHA) audited reports for the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 fiscal years.
During a session with the Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy, KeNHA Director-General Eng. Kungu Ndungu and his team were questioned regarding Ksh.128 million allocated to already completed projects but remained in dormant accounts.
This raised alarms among MPs about potential misappropriation of funds due to corruption risks.
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In response, KeNHA confirmed that six of these dormant accounts had since been closed, with only one remaining active for an ongoing project.
MPs highlighted further issues, including unfinished projects, substantial pending bills, unequal resource allocation for infrastructure projects, and delays caused by contractors.
David Pkosing, Committee Chair, and Pokot South MP urged Treasury CS John Mbadi and Transport CS Davis Chirchir to clarify the reasons behind the agency’s outstanding payments.
Pkosing emphasized that many contractors have faced financial strain, some going unpaid for over three years, making it challenging to meet their obligations.
He noted that Mbadi and Chirchir are expected to appear before the Committee on October 29 to address these issues, noting that the situation stems from political complexities rather than mismanagement by the Director-General.
Despite the government's austerity measures, the audit also questioned KeNHA's Ksh.11 million expenditure on overseas training.
However, Kenya's Director-General provided documentation showing that the State Department for Infrastructure approved the travel plans.
