Uhuru freezes all new government projects

President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing government officials at KICC, Nairobi

NAIROBI, KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta has moved to stop wastage of public resource through an order stopping new projects.

The president on Thursday ordered all government accounting officers to freez new government projects until those that are ongoing are completed.

The President issued the directive to all government accounting officers whom he warned would be held responsible if they sanction new projects without express authority from the National Treasury.

“There will be no new projects that will be embarked on until you complete those that are ongoing,” said the President who spoke at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre where he addressed a meeting bringing together all government accounting officers including Principal Secretaries, Parastatal Heads, Vice Chancellors of Public Universities and Chairmen of State Corporations.

The President said projects that might be exempt from the freeze will be only those that are directly aligned to the Big Four Agenda but even then there must be a written authorisation from the National Treasury.

“Even if new projects are aligned to the Big Four they cannot be started without express authority from CS or PS of the National Treasury,” said Uhuru.

He warned that government officials who embark on new projects before finishing ongoing initiatives without authorisation will be held responsible.

At the same time, President Uhuru announced that the Government will soon launch a new internet portal where all procurements will be publicised.

The President said all procurements, tenders and contracts will be advertised on the portal to create transparency in order to safeguard public resources from theft.