By Adan Mohamed - Reporter
December 18 2025 - The State Department for National Government Coordination (SDNGC) Principal Secretary Ahmed Ibrahim has led a multi-agency oversight mission to verify and validate the status of priority government programmes and projects in Mandera County.
The exercise, aimed at assessing progress, identifying bottlenecks and improving service delivery, will run for two days across Mandera, Lamu and Turkana counties.
PS Ibrahim, who led the multi-agency team, visited Mandera Technical Training College, Mandera Technical Training Institute and the Mandera Water Supply and Sewerage Treatment Project. The team also inspected the upgrading of the Kotulo–Public Works–Daua Road (Phase I) and Mandera Township roads.
At Mandera Technical Training College, the team established that the institution has enrolled 1,600 students. The college has constructed 10 classrooms donated by President William Ruto in February. However, quality concerns were noted, including poor paintwork, damaged floors and broken windows, which require remedial attention.
At Mandera Technical Training Institute, which serves 1,242 students and offers 32 courses, critical infrastructure and welfare gaps were identified. These include the lack of workshops for nine courses, absence of hostel facilities, school feeding challenges and cultural constraints affecting access to student loans, with a preference expressed for Sharia-compliant financing options. Despite these challenges, the institution has successfully absorbed its first cohort of 560 graduates into employment and has introduced a “Work for Fees” initiative to support students in meeting their fee obligations.
The team also reviewed the Mandera water supply and sewerage treatment project being implemented by the Tana Water Works Development Agency, with Sinohydro Ltd as the contractor and funding from the African Development Bank at a cost of KSh 1.5 billion. The project has reached 72 per cent physical completion, with 60 per cent of funds disbursed. Key challenges include land encroachment by squatters at the sewerage treatment site and concerns raised by the contractor over the charging of VAT despite the project’s tax-exempt status.
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In the roads sector, the upgrading of the Kotulo–Public Works–Daua Road (Phase I) to bitumen standards under the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) was confirmed to be complete. The project was implemented by Shunaz Transporters and Supplies Limited between February and November 2025. Mandera Township roads were also inspected and found to be fully completed and in use.
Under the National Tree Growing and Restoration Programme, the CFC Tree Nursery in Mandera East Sub-County currently holds 350,000 seedlings, while the Rhamu Tree Nursery has 50,000 seedlings. Against a target of one million seedlings for the 2024/2025 financial year, only 400,000 seedlings have been achieved so far. The programme continues to face challenges, including underfunding, weak inter-agency coordination and lack of fencing.
Overall, the visit was marked by constructive engagement, clear identification of bottlenecks and strong inter-agency collaboration, reaffirming the government’s commitment to accountable project implementation and improved service delivery in Mandera County.
The exercise was jointly undertaken by the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and the State Department for Internal Security and National Administration, in collaboration with other ministries, departments and agencies involved in the implementation of priority projects.
PS Ahmed Ibrahim also noted that all stalled projects would be resumed and completed, adding that the government is intensifying efforts to address the drought situation, with additional interventions set to be rolled out across the counties.
