Ruto promised Ksh.700B in Nyanza, where will the money come from? Controller of Budget explains

President William Ruto promised residents of the Nyanza region projects worth an estimated Ksh.700 billion during last week's extensive tour of the area.

But what does it take to turn presidential promises into reality, complete with the budgets required to facilitate their implementation?

Controller of Budget (CoB) Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o stated that the pronouncements must first be translated into funded projects, a process that could require budgetary shifts where possible or emergency funding were justified.

This comes at a time when reports from the Controller of Budget have shown that some government agencies proceeded with project implementation without approved budgets.

During last week’s tour of the Nyanza region, President Ruto launched, inspected and commissioned a series of multi-billion-shilling projects, while pledging billions of shillings in new investments across the region.

In Kisumu, for instance, the President announced the revival of the Ksh.19 billion Sondu-Soin Dam, the Kisumu Marine School and the Lumumba Affordable Housing Project.

In Homa Bay, he rolled out a Ksh.3.5 billion plan to construct 21 modern markets across the county.

On the final day of his Nyanza tour in Migori, the President launched several projects, including the construction of the Kanyawanga-Kuoyo-Madiaba Road at a cost of Ksh.2.2 billion.

He also announced the upgrading of the Sibuoche-Gogo Bitumen Road and the construction of the Masaba Substation, estimated to cost Ksh.1.2 billion.

In total, the President estimates that the government’s investment in the region could reach Ksh.700 billion.

In the Controller of Budget’s report for the financial year ending June 2026, the national government spent up to Ksh.889 billion on development projects across all ministerial departments.

The announcement that projects worth Ksh.700 billion could be implemented in a four-county region has therefore raised questions about how the projects will be financed.

"All the pronouncements by the President are taken up by the Office of the Head of Public Service. They cannot be picked by the verbal pronouncements and be implemented," Nyakang'o revealed.

In the Controller of Budget’s report for the financial year ending June 2026, the office conducted a monitoring and evaluation exercise on the implementation of government projects.

Nyakang’o’s team found that some projects in the Nyanza region had either been underfunded or implemented without corresponding budgetary allocations.

The report, for instance, flags Phase Two of the Got Rabuor-Homa Bay Pier Corner-Kodoyo Road and the realignment of the Homa Bay-Rongo Road at Kabunde Airstrip, both projects being executed by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).

Nyakang’o noted that KeNHA facilitated the contractor to mobilise resources on the ground in readiness for the works, despite lacking corresponding budgetary allocations in the approved budget for the 2025/2026 financial year.

This explains a situation where contractors report to the ground, but works never begin.

"If they do not have the resources, then they reach out and say, for us to implement, we need one, two, three, then the National Treasury advises," she added. 

The law allows for the reorganisation of budgets. In instances involving emergency demands, Article 223 of the Constitution can be used to fund unforeseen needs.

And while presidential pronouncements are not illegal, Nyakang’o pointed out that they must ultimately be translated into a budget, even where this requires a supplementary budget and the shifting of funds from previously allocated areas.

"New items have to go through the supplementary budgets, which pass through the COB."

For now, affected residents will have to wait for the implementation of the promised projects as the government handles the necessary paperwork, identifies funding, reallocates resources and seeks the required approvals.