Sh23bn industrial parks in limbo as MPs threaten to scrap funding

President William Ruto’s ambitious Sh23.5 billion industrial parks programme is facing fresh uncertainty after MPs threatened to freeze further funding.

MPs are citing stalled projects and lack of accountability in the use of public funds.

Members of the National Assembly Trade Committee are now pushing for an urgent meeting involving the national government and the Council of Governors in a bid to resolve a growing standoff that risks derailing the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) initiative.

The Kenya Kwanza administration has been banking on the project to spur manufacturing at the county level, create jobs for youth and small traders, and promote value addition across the country.

However, lawmakers say billions of shillings allocated to the programme cannot be accounted for on the ground, declaring the project a white elephant.

“We need a meeting with the Executive and the Council of Governors. We have been allocating money, but when we go to the ground, nothing is being done,” Kajiado South MP Samuel Parashina said.

The concerns emerged during a heated session between the committee and Industrialisation Principal Secretary Juma Mukhwana over the State Department’s budget estimates for the next financial year.

The government is seeking an additional Sh3.75 billion to partly operationalise the industrial parks in the remaining counties.

But MPs warned that continued allocations could amount to pouring more taxpayers’ money into “white elephant” projects.

“For me, this allocation of Sh3.8 billion should be cancelled,” Parashina said, accusing the ministry of failing to demonstrate progress despite repeated funding approvals by Parliament.

Lawmakers expressed alarm after a recent inspection tour of selected counties revealed that many projects had stalled, while in some areas, construction had not even begun.

The committee also accused the Ministry of Industrialisation of failing to cooperate during the oversight exercise.

Committee chairperson Bernard Shinali said the ministry ignored a formal request notifying officials of the visit.

“What is being raised is very serious and has serious consequences. We sent you a letter on April 20 stating that we would be visiting the projects on May 4. You did not respond to our letter,” Shinali said.

“You instead sent us a letter on May 14, which does not meet the threshold of an apology,” he added.

PS Mukhwana defended himself, telling the committee he had travelled to Egypt and only saw the lawmakers’ letter after returning to the country on May 4.

The explanation failed to convince MPs, with Aldai's Maryanne Kitany and Vihiga Woman Representative Beatrice Adagala questioning whether the PS was solely running the State Department without adequate delegation.

The lawmakers insisted that Parliament could not continue approving billions for projects whose impact remained invisible.

“We cannot continue to allocate funds for projects that are white elephants. On May 4, we went to the counties to see the status of these projects. There is nothing to show for the money,” Parashina said.

According to budget documents submitted by the State Department, part of the Sh3.75 billion request will go toward operationalising the industrial parks in the remaining 13 counties.

The ministry wants Sh300 million for support infrastructure such as electricity, water and internet installation.

Another Sh200 million has been earmarked for investor forums, while Sh100 million is proposed for the formulation of policies and regulations governing the parks.

Additional allocations include Sh100 million for market development, Sh100 million for the supply of raw materials, Sh100 million for identification of value chains and another Sh100 million for training and capacity building of manufacturers.

So far, the government says it has spent Sh8.71 billion on the programme across 34 counties.

The ministry told MPs that 15 industrial parks had been completed, while 19 others remained at various stages of construction.

“To date, the State Department has disbursed funds to 34 counties for construction of the CAIPs. Out of the 34 CAIPs, 15 are complete and the remaining 19 are at various stages of completion, with more expected to be completed soon,” Mukhwana said.

Despite the assurances, the committee maintained that the current completion rate of 39 per cent was far below expectations, raising fresh doubts over the future of one of the government’s flagship economic empowerment projects.