People cross through Suam, which sits on the border of Kenya and Uganda.
The government has announced plans to hive off 50 acres of land from Suam Forest in Trans Nzoia County to develop a border town and a housing project that will host State offices for the one-stop border post.
However, implementation of the plan is lagging behind as the border post is still under construction at the Kenya-Uganda border.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the project, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki revealed that President William Ruto had already directed relevant departments to expedite degazettement of the land to complete the project.
During the Tuesday tour, Prof Kindiki admitted that the project has had implementation challenges and that the government is speeding up its completion.
“We are here to assess this project because we received a report on the challenges that have been here. As a government, we commit to complete it in a few months so that we enhance business between Kenya and Uganda,” he said.
The project is funded by the government of Kenya in partnership with the African Development Bank (ADB).
Kenya has lagged behind on implementation of the joint project compared to Uganda.
“The Ugandan side has made some good progress and we have come to assess and ensure timely completion to pave the way for commissioning by the two heads of state,” noted Prof Kindiki.
“We want to centralise key government services from agencies both from Kenya and Uganda here at the one-stop border post. This will support and ease business between the two countries.”
The DP was accompanied by the Internal Security Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo who is in charge of the project implementation committee in the national government.
Initiated by Kenyatta
The Sh100 million bilateral project, which started in 2021, is part of a Sh4.6 billion initiative in Trans Nzoia County. It was initiated by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and includes the Kitale-Endebess- Suam Road.
The bilateral project between Kenya and Uganda began following an agreement signed by Mr Kenyatta and President Yoweri Museveni during a meeting in Mombasa in 2019.
The DP used the occasion to warn lazy and rogue contractors who delay government projects that the government will not spare them.
“Just like the President pronounced himself on the issues of contractors in Kisii, I want to reiterate that the government will not allow contractors who delay government projects and programs,” he noted.
