Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has shed light on why county projects can take a long time to move from an announcement on paper to actual work on the ground, saying several steps must be completed before a contractor is allowed to start construction.
Sakaja said residents often expect work to begin soon after a project is announced or a tender is awarded, yet the process involves planning, funding, technical designs, public participation, procurement, approvals and, in some cases, legal battles.
Speaking on Thursday, September 10, 2026, during his latest Baraza Digital podcast, the governor said project implementation starts long before a tender notice is published.
He explained that for a road project, the county first determines the areas that need attention and sets priorities based on its development plans, concerns raised by residents in different wards, engineering findings and the money available.
The proposed project must then be captured in the relevant county plans and approved budget before the technical preparations can move forward.
County engineers are required to conduct surveys and develop the necessary designs and specifications. They also prepare a Bill of Quantities (BoQ), which sets out the work required and helps determine the expected cost of the project.
Residents are also involved through public participation, giving them an opportunity to identify their needs and have a say in development projects planned in their areas.
“A government project does not begin with a tender advertisement. There is a whole process of planning, budgeting, design and public participation before construction can begin,” Sakaja said.
Winning a tender does not put a contractor on site
The governor said the award of a tender is only one stage in a much longer process and does not mean construction will start immediately.
Once a tender is advertised, companies submit their bids, which are opened and assessed against the conditions set out in the procurement documents.
The county considers issues such as the company’s technical and financial ability, experience and compliance with the tender requirements when evaluating the bids.
Sakaja also pointed out that a company offering the lowest price does not automatically secure the contract.
Where the procurement rules require it, the successful bidder must meet all the set conditions and emerge as the lowest evaluated responsive bidder.
The process continues even after the evaluation has been completed.
The award must receive the required approvals, bidders must be informed of the outcome, a contract must be signed and the project site formally handed over to the successful contractor.
It is only after these steps have been completed that the contractor can mobilise workers, machinery and materials and move to the site.
This means residents may be aware that a project has been awarded while seeing little or no activity at the location.
Sakaja said such a situation does not necessarily mean the county has failed to act, as the project may still be going through the administrative steps required before physical work starts.
The Governor also explained that some projects face additional delays when procurement decisions or other parts of the implementation process are challenged in court.
He said the county must respect the legal process when a project is taken to court and cannot simply proceed as if the dispute does not exist.
“Sometimes residents see a project as delayed, yet there are legal or procurement processes that must be completed before the contractor can move to site,” he said.
A project can therefore remain inactive at the physical location while county officials respond to a procurement challenge or wait for court proceedings to be dealt with.
The governor said this is one of the reasons the public may see a gap between the time a project is announced and the moment construction becomes visible.
He further drew a distinction between awarding a contract and paying the contractor.
According to Sakaja, being selected to undertake a project does not mean that a contractor receives the full project payment immediately.
After construction begins, county engineers or appointed consultants monitor the work and measure the sections that have been completed.
They also check whether the contractor is following the approved designs and specifications and whether the work meets the required standards.
Payment requests are made based on work that has already been completed and certified by the responsible engineer.
The claim then goes through the county’s financial procedures before the contractor receives payment.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja addressing the media at Harembee House, Nairobi on May 19, 2026.
PHOTO/NCCG
Sakaja said the system is designed to ensure public money is connected to work that has actually been carried out and checked.
The governor said a project does not automatically end when the contractor finishes the physical construction.
After the work is completed, it must undergo a final inspection to determine whether it matches the approved designs and specifications and meets the required standards.
The project can then enter the applicable defects-liability period.
During this period, the contractor may be required to correct problems discovered in the completed work before the county can formally close the project.
The additional checks mean that a project has several stages that may not be visible to residents, even when officials are working on it.
For Nairobi residents waiting for roads and other county projects, the process can therefore stretch from identifying a need and setting aside money to preparing designs, involving the public, evaluating bids and completing the required contract procedures.
In some cases, procurement disputes or court proceedings may add more time before construction can begin.
Once a contractor moves to site, the work is still subject to supervision, measurement and certification before payments are processed.
Sakaja: Project delivery goes beyond announcements
Sakaja said residents need to understand the full process when assessing the progress of county projects instead of focusing only on whether construction has started.
He said project implementation begins with identifying a need and securing funding before moving into the design and procurement stages.
Construction follows after the necessary processes have been completed, but technical checks, certification, payment and final inspection continue after the contractor has finished the work.
“Delivery is not simply announcing a project. It is taking it through planning, procurement, construction, verification, payment and completion,” Sakaja said.
The governor's explanation gives a picture of what happens between the announcement of a Nairobi County project and the arrival of machinery at the site.
A project can have been identified, included in county plans, provided for in the budget and taken through technical preparations even before residents see physical work.
The procurement stage can then involve advertising the tender, receiving bids, evaluating them, securing the necessary approvals, notifying bidders and signing the contract.
The site must also be formally handed over before the contractor can mobilise and begin work.
Where a procurement decision or another aspect of the project is challenged in court, implementation may have to wait for the legal process to run its course.
Even after work starts, the county has to confirm that what has been built matches the approved plans before payments are made.
Engineers or consultants measure the completed work and certify payment claims, while financial procedures determine how and when the contractor is paid.
At the end of construction, another inspection is carried out before the project moves towards formal closure.
Any defects identified during the defects-liability period can also have to be addressed by the contractor.
Sakaja said the various stages are part of the process of ensuring county projects are properly planned, funded, procured, built and checked.
For residents following the progress of development projects, the governor's explanation means that the absence of workers or machinery at a site does not always tell the full story.
Some projects may still be undergoing budget, engineering, procurement, legal or financial procedures before construction can begin.
The arrival of a contractor at a site is therefore not the beginning of the project, just as the completion of construction is not necessarily the end.
According to Sakaja, the entire process runs from identifying the need and securing resources through design, procurement and construction, followed by verification, payment, correction of defects where necessary and final completion