President William Ruto has given the contractor responsible for constructing the Ksh 2.2 billion Kisii Cancer Centre a stern warning over the slow progress of the project, threatening to terminate the contract if the work does not proceed according to the agreed timeline.
During his visit to the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) to assess the project’s progress, Ruto instructed the contractor to accelerate work in line with the original agreement, emphasizing that full payment had already been made for the project. “You have been paid all the money required. There is no reason whatsoever why this project is not progressing,” Ruto stated.
He also issued a broader warning to all contractors delaying key government projects, stressing that such delays would not be tolerated. “There are many contractors who are letting us down, and we will not allow them. This is the year for delivering our agenda as planned,” he added.
The Kisii Cancer Centre, a collaboration between the national and county governments, the Arab Bank of Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), was initially slated to be operational before 2022. The facility was conceived in response to the growing number of cancer-related deaths in Kenya, with over 39,000 new cancer cases reported annually, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Western Kenya alone accounts for 27,000 of these cases.
Currently, Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret are the only two facilities equipped to treat about 9,000 cancer patients per year. This leaves thousands of patients relying on costly private hospitals or seeking treatment abroad, exacerbating the financial burden and contributing to the high number of cancer-related deaths—over 13,000 annually, according to the 2014 Kenya Economic and Household Survey.
Governor James Ongwae of Kisii County championed the cancer centre project, which was to be co-financed by BADEA and SFD, each contributing Ksh 1 billion. The national government allocated Ksh 280 million, while the Kisii County government provided the land and set up a project implementation unit.
Once completed, the centre will serve an estimated 10 million people from Kisii, Nyamira, Migori, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Kericho, and the Trans Mara region of Narok County. The facility, which will occupy 5,000 square meters at KTRH, will be equipped with essential cancer treatment infrastructure, including theatres, examination rooms, a mammogram unit, an observation ward, patient wards, and a control room. The centre will also feature two shielded rooms for X-ray and CT scans.
However, despite the significant investment and the urgency of the project, construction has faced delays. In August 2023, President Ruto expressed his dissatisfaction with the slow pace of work and reiterated that the project was supposed to be completed within 18 months, to launch it in 2026. Given the current pace, it is unlikely that the timeline will be met unless the project is handed over to a new contractor.
