KISUMU, Kenya Jun 10 \u2013 Civil society organisations from four counties in western Kenya have raised concerns over the growing number of stalled public projects, ballooning pending bills and emerging political violence ahead of the 2027 General Election, warning that the trends threaten public service delivery and accountability.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Kisumu on Tuesday during a biannual agenda-setting meeting under the TUNU Project, representatives from civil society organisations in Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay and Kakamega counties accused county governments of failing to complete projects that have consumed millions of shillings over several years.<\/p>\n
The organisations cited several projects, including the Mowlem Bus Park, Kisumu County Assembly, Kosawo Health Centre, Shamakhubu Level Four Hospital, Migwena Sports Ground and Siaya Stadium, saying their completion status remains unclear despite continued budgetary allocations.<\/p>\n
Ken Anjejo, speaking on behalf of the organisations, said residents were being denied essential services because of delayed implementation, poor workmanship and inadequate oversight of public projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany communities continue to be denied the benefits of critical infrastructure and services due to delayed implementation, poor workmanship, cost escalations and inadequate oversight,\u201d said Anjejo.<\/p>\n
He noted that the recurring allocation of funds to projects whose status remains disputed raises questions about prudent use of public resources and value for money.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are projects that have received allocations year after year, yet citizens are still unable to tell whether they are complete or functional. That should concern every taxpayer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The organisations called on county governments, oversight agencies and implementing institutions to strengthen transparency in project planning, procurement, implementation and reporting.<\/p>\n
Anjejo also challenged county administrations to prioritise completion of existing projects instead of launching new ones in the final year of their terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want governments to focus on completing projects that have already consumed public resources rather than initiating new ones for political visibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The groups further warned that accountability should not end when elected leaders leave office, insisting that former governors and public officers must remain answerable for decisions made during their tenure.<\/p>\n
\u201cGovernment is a continuous process. If issues of impropriety emerge after a governor leaves office, the law is clear that they can still be called upon to account for their actions,\u201d Anjejo said.<\/p>\n
On pending bills, the groups argued that poor financial management continues to burden counties and undermine service delivery.<\/p>\n
They pointed to Makueni County as an example of prudent financial management, noting that it had reportedly maintained minimal pending bills compared to other counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf one county can operate with little or no pending bills, then it demonstrates that the challenge is not resources but management. Counties must stop accumulating debts while starting new projects,\u201d Anjejo said.<\/p>\n
The organisations also raised concerns over growing political intolerance and violence ahead of the 2027 General Election, warning that increasing hostility among rival political camps could undermine peace and democratic participation.<\/p>\n
They urged political leaders to exercise restraint and promote issue-based campaigns, while calling on security agencies to act firmly against perpetrators of political violence regardless of their affiliation.<\/p>\n
The groups further urged citizens, especially young people, to actively monitor public projects, participate in governance processes and demand accountability from leaders, saying an informed and engaged citizenry remains key to strengthening democracy and promoting sustainable development.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KISUMU, Kenya Jun 10 \u2013 Civil society organisations from four counties in western Kenya have raised concerns over the growing number of stalled public projects, ballooning pending bills and emerging political violence ahead of the 2027 General Election, warning that the trends threaten public service delivery and accountability. Speaking in Kisumu on Tuesday during a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143551\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}