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KeRRA in trouble with MPs over Sh3.7bn road maintenance deductions
Construction works by Kenya Rural Roads Authority.
Parliament is demanding answers from the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) over Sh3.7 billion deducted from the constituency roads funds for maintenance works that the lawmakers say are not going on.
Despite the deductions, the lawmakers pointed out that KeRRA has failed to do routine maintenance of roads, especially those in rural constituencies, which are currently in a pathetic state due to the rains pounding various parts of the country.
According to Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gisairo, who raised the matter, the authority deducted Sh13 million from each constituency for the routine maintenance of the roads, but two months later, no work has been going on.
“It is now almost two months, and the Leader of the Majority Party is very much aware of this. We have been requesting a statement on the deduction of the Ksh13 million per constituency under KeRRA, the 22 per cent and 10 per cent Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF),” Mr Gisairo said.
The lawmaker complained that despite asking for explanations on the fate of the Sh3.7 billion two months ago, there has been no formal response from the authority, raising accountability questions about the whereabouts of the taxpayers’ money.
“Every two weeks, we have been informed by the chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Roads that he will respond. These delays are hurting constituencies that depend heavily on rural access roads,” Mr Gisairo said.
Mr Gisairo pointed out that the majority of lawmakers representing rural constituencies heavily rely on the funds for basic road maintenance, accusing the authority of overlooking a critical issue affecting livelihoods and connectivity.
“We are talking about Sh3.7 billion in total, deducted from all constituencies, and no one wants to explain. Sh13 million on average in most constituencies on routine maintenance,” Mr Gisairo said.
Lawmakers from rural constituencies expressed concern over the slow flow of road maintenance funds, with several lawmakers pointing out that the delays in the release of the money have left local roads in poor condition and slowed development in the countryside.
National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah assured MPs that the government would not carry over outstanding NG-CDF allocations into the next financial year, saying the National Treasury had pledged to clear all pending disbursements before year-end.
On the road maintenance levy issue, Mr Ichung’wah said the chairperson of the Roads and Public Works will give a formal response when the House resumes after the current short recess.
Mr Ichung’wah defended the use of road funds in his own constituency, saying he had deliberately opted to tarmac roads instead of repeatedly grading them with murram that would wash away during the rains.
“I made that deliberate decision way back in 2019 that I shall never in my life as Member of Parliament for Kikuyu Constituency use public funds to grade a road, lay murram, that will be washed away in the next season. I would rather, with the Sh60 million I have, tarmac one kilometre of road and it is something you could borrow from,” he said.
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