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Development projects worth Sh350 billion have stalled in various stages due to dragged-out court cases.
The National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee on Friday said it had identified prolonged adjudication of these cases as one of the major setbacks in the delivery life cycle of such projects.
The committee led by Interior CS Fred Matiangi met Chief Justice David Maraga to seek Judiciary’s intervention to hasten litigation of the cases.
Matiang’i was accompanied in the meeting by Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, Cabinet secretaries Faridah Karoney and James Macharia, Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, and Principal Secretary for Interior Karanja Kibicho.
The team raised concerns that prolonged adjudication had not only increased the cost variances of the projects but also led to the withdrawal of funding and development aid.
In a statement sent by the Interior Ministry, the government said it was unable to complete its key projects due to the court cases.
“Following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directives under Executive Order No. 1 of 2019, the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee has identified prolonged adjudication of these cases as one of the major bottlenecks in the delivery life cycle of National Government projects,” read part of the statement.
It said, “a delegation led by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i has now reached out to the Chief Justice David Maraga, seeking to contrive a framework for cooperation with the Judiciary with a view to hastening litigation of these cases”.
Matiangi in the statement said of all the cases, only 9 per cent are at the Judgment Phase while 46 per cent are at the Interlocutory stage.
Matiang’i said the transport ministry bears the heaviest brunt of legal tussles with a whopping 221 lawsuits filed against the Cabinet Secretary, the State Departments, and other key stakeholders.
Environment and Lands ministry account for some 36 per cent of all the cases.
“There is an urgent need to review the procedures of issuing expatriate orders to various interest groups at the expense of the general public interest,” Matiangi said.
“The government is not seeking favourable rulings but fair and timely judgements,” he added.
AG Paul Kihara said there is a need for a framework for refining cooperation as the cases handled touch on matters of immense public interest and hold significant public resources but also build on the principles and practice in the delivery of justice within the country.
His sentiments were echoed by Solicitor General Ken Ogetto who said halting critical development projects without clear or justifiable reasons has had serious ramifications on the country’s economy.
Some of the major projects that have stalled due to various litigation issues include the Olkaria – Lessos – Kisumu – Transmission line worth Sh18.2 billion, the Mariakani Substation worth Sh3 billion and the Ethiopia – Kenya – Transmission Line worth Sh62.854 billion.
Others are the Mwea Irrigation Development Project at Sh9.4 billion, the Kisumu Water Supply Project at Sh3.66 billion, Lessos – Tororo Transmission line at Sh8.8 billion and the Yatta Dam Water Supply Project at Sh6.5 billion.
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