U.S. Terminates Kenya-Linked Contracts in Campaign Against ‘Wasteful’ Spending
In a renewed push to eliminate wasteful government expenditure, the United States government has revoked two contracts associated with Kenya. These contracts, valued collectively at more than Ksh 43 million, were part of a broader crackdown on what federal agencies have labeled as unnecessary or redundant agreements.
On Friday, May 2, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) issued a public update explaining the rationale behind the cancellations. The agency emphasized that the terminated contracts fall under a large-scale effort aimed at increasing fiscal responsibility and streamlining federal operations.
“This is part of our continuous campaign to ensure taxpayer money is used efficiently,” the agency stated.
According to the release, federal departments reviewed hundreds of contracts and ultimately voided 401 agreements over a 48-hour period. These had a cumulative contract ceiling of Ksh 273 billion (equivalent to $2.1 billion). The move is expected to save the U.S. government approximately Ksh 79.7 billion ($613 million).
Among the annulled agreements were two contracts specifically tied to Kenya. The U.S. Treasury Department had approved a Ksh 35.9 million ($276,000) contract for a Kenya program coordinator. A second contract, worth Ksh 29.6 million ($228,000), was intended to provide cruiser vehicles for Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, and Tanzania.
Details regarding how these cancellations will affect personnel or projects in Kenya were not disclosed in the official notice. However, the contracts were listed among several others targeted in the cost-cutting initiative.
In a social media update from the agency, the list of cancelled projects was summarized as follows:
“Contract update! Over the last two days, agencies terminated 401 wasteful contracts with a ceiling value of $2.1B and savings of $613M, including a $276k Treasury contract for a ‘Kenya program coordinator’,
A $228k Treasury contract for ‘Kenya, Uganda, Namibia and Tanzania cruiser vehicles’, a $24k DHS contract for ‘two day training on equal opportunity in employment’, a $15k DHS contract for ‘Out and Equal workplace advocates’, and a $5.9M DoC contract for ‘environmental consulting support services’.”
These examples underscore the broad reach of the spending review. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also cancelled several contracts, such as a Ksh 3.1 million ($24,000) agreement for a two-day equal employment opportunity training session. Another DHS contract, valued at Ksh 1.95 million ($15,000), aimed to support Out and Equal workplace advocacy. Additionally, the Department of Commerce (DoC) cancelled a large Ksh 767 million ($5.9 million) contract for environmental consulting services.
DOGE, the agency spearheading this initiative, was created during the second Trump administration. Its mission is to modernize federal operations and lower government expenses. President Trump formalized DOGE’s mandate through an executive order on January 20, 2025.
While the agency has not specified the exact selection criteria used to label contracts as “wasteful,” officials claim the goal is to cut back on non-essential spending and redirect funds toward high-priority programs.
This isn’t the first time Kenya-related initiatives have been impacted by recent U.S. fiscal tightening. On April 8, the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) cancelled grants amounting to over Ksh 6.7 billion (approximately $51 million) across several African nations, including Kenya.
DOGE later confirmed that one of the terminated grants included a Ksh 6.3 million ($48,406) fund previously approved for a Kenyan-based initiative. The project had aimed to develop a WhatsApp chatbot to help local entrepreneurs market their products.
The cancellation of this grant means that the chatbot, which was envisioned to boost the visibility of small businesses, will no longer be developed under U.S. funding.
These cutbacks reflect a significant shift in U.S. foreign spending, particularly in programs that may not meet newly established efficiency standards. The Kenyan government and other stakeholders have not yet commented on the long-term implications of these decisions.
Although many of the affected contracts were relatively modest in financial scale, the aggregate impact suggests a tightening of U.S. engagement in projects abroad—especially those viewed as peripheral to core diplomatic or development goals.
Moving forward, American agencies are expected to continue scrutinizing contracts for potential waste. Observers suggest that more cuts may follow as the government seeks to optimize its budget and redirect resources to domestic and high-impact international programs.
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U.S. Terminates Kenya-Linked Contracts in Campaign Against ‘Wasteful’ Spending
