Senators and governors have closed ranks in calling for the disbandment of the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) and Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura), and billions under their control handed over to counties.
The lawmakers and the county bosses argue that the two road agencies have failed in the management of county roads despite receiving billions of shillings every financial year from the exchequer.
Senators maintain that Kerra and Kura remain fully operational, performing functions meant for county governments, resulting in significant duplication of effort.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ said counties have built their capacity to manage their roads with the devolved units investing in the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment used to maintain Class C roads, leaving Kerra "idle". He observed that Kerra mostly subcontracts maintenance of the said roads as the agency does not have its own equipment.
Appearing before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday last week, Narok County Governor Patrick Ntutu said Kerra does very little in terms of management of county roads in Narok.
He told the senators his administration has purchased 120 heavy machines at Sh1.6 billion to rehabilitate and maintain roads in the county.
“If a function is better carried out by a level of government, then it should be let to do so. We must fast-track legislation that brings county roads under the devolved units,” said Mr Kajwang’.
“Counties are investing in heavy equipment at high costs to maintain roads that should be done by Kerra, which is just sitting in Nairobi. We should use the Narok case to prove counties have the capacity to carry out Kerra functions,” he added.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said Kerra and Kura operate vaguely without involving concerned governors and senators when identifying roads for improvement and maintenance.
He said the Constitution defines only two levels of roads – national and county roads – with the latter making up almost 70 percent of all roads in the country.
Under current law, all roads in Kenya are classified as either national or county roads, falling under the national or devolved governments, respectively.
Mr Sakaja said the best thing is to disband the two agencies and let counties absorb their functions.
“When roads flood in the city, the blame will always go to the county yet it is not my function. Every person using a road in Kenya is paying a levy for roads to be maintained. Last financial year some Sh119.7 billion was collected under the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) and if divided proportionally, counties would get Sh83.9 billion and not the Sh10.5 billion we are fighting over in RMLF,” said Governor Sakaja.
Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o is also of the opinion that the two agencies should be scrapped and their mandates transferred to counties, blaming the entities for slow construction and repair of local interlinking and feeder roads.
Kerra, for instance, has a project portfolio estimated at over Sh400 billion in contracted works with the figure comprising approximately Sh122 billion as the value of completed works and Sh278 billion in ongoing projects.
The money is earmarked for upgrading 8,700 kilometers of roads to bitumen standards countrywide.
“We shall not sort out road problems in this country if we don’t abolish Kura and Kerra. The two are a waste of public resources,” said Prof Nyong’o.
A 2013 taskforce report, reinforced by the 11th National and County Government Coordination Summit in December 2024, recommended the winding up, merging, or the immediate transfer of the two agencies’ remaining devolved mandates.
Narok Senator Ledama Olekina and his Kiambu counterpart Karungo Thang’wa said funds due to Kerra should go to counties to ease the burden on counties and also streamline management of local roads.
“Money going to Kerra should go to counties to avoid duplication, which is a breeding ground for corruption. Each takes credit for the project and we end up losing money,” said Mr Thang’wa.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei said Kerra should be disbanded and the funds due to it given to counties to fix roads at the village level.
The move, he said, will see counties left to manage local roads and limit the national government to managing national highways via Kenya National Highways Authority.
“We should escalate this matter and ensure Kerra and Kura are disbanded as they are illegal entities,” said Mr Cherargei.
Kerra is a state agency charged with the maintenance of all rural roads across the country with resources from the Roads Maintenance Levy.
On the other hand, Kurra focuses on maintaining the road networks in urban centres. Governors have been at loggerheads with the national government over allocations for Kurra roads with Sh10.5 billion from the RLMF at the centre of the battle.
The two public agencies manage funds collected from the RMLF, creating a source of conflict between governors and the national government.
Before his demise, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga also called for the abolition of two key state road agencies, saying they were impediments to the success of devolution.
Nonetheless, President William Ruto Ruto wants the levy to remain with the national government, citing county governments' inadequate use of the levy and construction of substandard roads as a reason enough.
He said his government would construct several quality roads nationwide if it were authorised to manage the funds.
