A major public transport project meant to ease movement along Thika Road has remained stuck for years, while unpaid bills, interest and contractor claims have added Sh1.78 billion to the cost of the scheme.
The financial problems at the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA) have been laid bare by the Auditor-General, who found that the agency owed Sh2.5 billion in trade and other payables by June 30, 2025.
The amount represents a sharp rise from the Sh1.563 billion recorded in the previous financial year, putting further pressure on an authority expected to oversee major public transport projects in Nairobi.
The audit found that Sh2.449 billion, or 98 per cent of the total outstanding amount, had not been settled for more than three years.
A substantial part of the unpaid money relates to the company contracted to design and construct Bus Rapid Transit facilities along the Thika Superhighway Corridor.
Construction came to a standstill on January 11, 2022, after NaMATA failed to pay the contractor. The stoppage has left the project, which was expected to improve public transport along the busy corridor, incomplete.
The contract was signed at a value of Sh5.575 billion, with work worth Sh3.108 billion already certified as completed. However, the value of work in progress has remained unchanged across successive financial years.
The longer the project remains unfinished, the more expensive it has become for the authority.
The Auditor-General established that Sh1.039 billion of the outstanding NaMATA payables was made up of interest arising from delayed settlement of certificates for the Thika Road BRT works.
NaMATA is also dealing with another Sh745.1 million in contingent liabilities arising from claims submitted by the contractor.
The claims relate to delays in approving drawings, delays in acquiring land and the decision to suspend construction.
The two amounts bring the financial burden linked to delays to Sh1.784 billion, which is nearly a third of the original contract price.
The Auditor-General raised concerns over the growing expense, warning that the additional costs had weakened the justification for the project.
“In the circumstances, there is no value for money in the BRT Project arising from interest on delayed payments,” the Auditor-General said.
NaMATA explained that the problem was largely caused by insufficient development budget allocations. The authority said the funding available had not been enough to meet the cost of the capital project.
Beyond the BRT project, the audit found that NaMATA was operating with a major staffing gap.
The authority had approval for 215 positions but only 94 employees were in place, leaving 121 vacancies.
The Auditor-General cautioned that the shortage could force existing employees to perform several duties, with possible effects on service delivery.
The authority also does not have a retirement benefit scheme in place for its employees.
Employee deductions and contributions from the employer totalling Sh4.98 million had not been remitted to a pension scheme. The Auditor-General said the failure amounted to a breach of the law.
NaMATA’s governance structure also came under scrutiny, with the authority’s board having 14 members against the maximum nine provided for under the Mwongozo Code of Governance for State Corporations.
The findings place the authority under pressure to explain the continued delays affecting its flagship BRT programme as it pursues other transport projects in the city.
These include a one-month pilot scheduled public transport system under which the government subsidised fares.