Job Creation In Jeopardy As Industry Sector Faces Sh610 Million Budget Shortfall

Plans to boost job creation and industrial growth have been thrown into uncertainty after the State Department for Industry revealed a Sh610 million shortfall in its development budget for the 2025/2026 financial year.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Principal Secretary for Industry Dr. Juma Mukhwana said the department has been allocated Sh8.679 billion—less than the Sh9.132 billion proposed in the 2025 Budget Policy Statement.

“The shortfall of Sh610.2 million will delay the completion of key projects aimed at creating jobs, promoting value addition, and supporting economic growth,” Dr. Mukhwana told MPs.

Among the affected projects are the construction and equipping of research laboratories at the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) and the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs), which are yet to be completed due to insufficient funding.

Committee Chairperson and Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali, alongside Vice Chairperson and Aldai MP Marianne Kitany, urged the government to prioritize completing ongoing industrial parks before launching new ones.

“For Kenyans to get value for money, the government must first complete existing industrial park projects,” said Shinali—a view echoed by several committee members.

Kitany further proposed that county governments and development partners should take a more active role in funding and managing the parks to ease the burden on the national government.

PS Mukhwana confirmed that the ambitious plan to establish industrial parks in 18 counties remains largely incomplete due to funding constraints.

In the same session, Investment Promotion PS Hassan Abubakar disclosed that his department had been allocated Sh2.13 billion for development, far below its requirement of Sh12.6 billion—leaving a massive shortfall of Sh10.46 billion.

“This gap will significantly affect the execution and completion of planned investment projects,” said Abubakar, sparking sharp questions from MPs who wondered why many projects remain incomplete despite annual budget allocations.

Trade PS Regina Ombam also told the committee that her department needs Sh500 million to operationalize the CAIPs in counties.

In response, the committee directed the Trade and Industry departments to work together and present a harmonized budget for the same project.