How weak project execution threatens Kenya's Sh4.8 trillion budget

Experts warn Kenya’s record Sh4.8 trillion 2026/27 budget faces execution risks. [File,Standard]

 As Kenya moves to implement its record Sh4.8 trillion budget for the 2026/27 financial year, project management professionals have warned that weak execution could undermine the value of the government’s spending plan.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi is set to present the FY 2026/27 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, June 11, at 3 p.m., outlining revenue targets, debt management strategies and economic interventions under a regional East African Community (EAC) harmonised Budget Day framework.

Speaking at the Government and Public Sector Project Management Conference 2026 in Nairobi, Project Management Institute (PMI) Kenya Chapter President Maureen Mbithi Ochang said Kenya’s challenge was no longer a shortage of development plans but the ability to deliver them.

“Kenya does not suffer from a shortage of vision. We have ambitious policies, national plans, Vision 2030, Bottom-Up Economic Transformation priorities, county integrated development plans, sector strategies, digital blueprints, climate commitments and infrastructure ambitions. The real question before us is this: How do we execute better?” said Ochang.

The warning comes as scrutiny over public spending grows ahead of the new budget cycle.

The National Treasury acknowledged in its 2025 Budget Review that the 2024/25 financial year recorded below-target absorption of both recurrent and development expenditure, with development spending standing at 58.3 per cent as of March 2026. In the 2023/24 financial year, government ministries and departments spent at least Sh7.6 billion on projects that remained incomplete, according to the Auditor General, who warned of rising costs and inefficient use of public funds.

Contractor pending bills accumulated from 2020 delayed construction of about 6,000 kilometres of roads before the government cleared Sh177 billion of the arrears. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also estimated that nearly half of more than 1,000 government-implemented projects stalled, with close to Sh1 trillion required to complete them.

Debt servicing will consume Sh1.5 trillion of the proposed Sh4.8 trillion budget for the 2026/27 financial year, while domestic interest payments exceed the entire education allocation of Sh668.3 billion, leaving less room for costly project delays and poor returns.

George Asamani, PMI’s managing director for Sub-Saharan Africa, said governments were increasingly being judged not by policy ambition but by their ability to deliver results.

“Citizens are paying closer attention to how quickly projects are delivered, how public funds are used and whether institutions can translate national priorities into visible improvements in daily life,” said Asamani.

He noted that demand for skilled project professionals across Sub-Saharan Africa could grow by between 56 per cent and 75 per cent by 2035, underscoring the need for governments to invest in capacity building and professionalisation across the public sector.

PMI’s Pulse of the Profession 2026 research found that projects that manage complexity effectively are five times more likely to succeed, a finding the institute said is increasingly relevant for governments overseeing large-scale national transformation programmes.

The conference, organised by the PMI Kenya Chapter under the theme “Delivering Kenya’s Development Agenda through Project Management”, brought together senior government officials, development partners, infrastructure practitioners and project professionals.

Ochang said project management should no longer be viewed as an administrative function but as a strategic leadership capability needed to ensure public spending translates into completed projects and economic value.