The government requires Sh700 billion to complete 4,000 kilometres of ongoing road projects across the country.
Of the amount required, Sh150 billion is classified as outstanding bills for work being done by contractors to upgrade various roads in the 47 counties to bitumen standards.
Cabinet Secretary for Roads Kipchumba Murkomen said the department had only Sh46 billion to carry out the projects, a fraction of what was needed.
To make up the shortfall, the government is seeking support from various donor agencies, which is expected to bear fruit in the next three months.
“Out of the Sh700 billion required, Sh150 billion is pending bills for road works that are already done while we have in this year’s budget only Sh46 billion for it,” Murkomen said on Wednesday.
“We have engaged China for concessional facility of around Sh180 billion because the total portfolio of the work their (Chinese) companies have been awarded out of the total contract sum of Sh700 billion is Sh400 billion.”
Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen distributes the Kenya Highway Code and Learner Drivers’ Handbook during the launch of road safety campaign in Nairobi on December 18, 2023
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
He added that the funds from China are expected in the next three months to prevent the projects from stalling.
“I have been to China three times to seek support and President Ruto has entered into a bilateral agreement with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the matter,” Murkomen said.
Dr Ruto met President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in China on October 23, during a state visit.
The Ministry of Roads and Public Works is undertaking road projects under the Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha), Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kurra) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura).
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Kenyan President William Ruto at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 18, 2023.
Photo credit: AFP
Speaking during a morning talk show at Kass FM radio station, Murkomen said the Kenya Kwanza administration was facing cash flow problems after inheriting a battered economy and almost empty state coffers from former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
President Kenyatta handed over power on September 13, 2022 to Dr Ruto who won the August 9 general election.
“The government will not initiate new road projects until the current ones under construction are completed in the current financial year. We are making good progress on the projects," Murkomen said.
The CS said all the 290 constituencies in the 17 counties will receive Sh62 million for road maintenance, bringing the total to Sh17.9 billion.
A large number of projects across the country were left unfinished at the end of President Kenyatta's term and the Kenya Kwanza administration has struggled to fund them over the past year.
By mid-next year, a new regulatory framework will be in place to allow the use of cameras on highways and roads to curb traffic violations and accidents.
Murkomen also defended the National Transport and Safety Authority's (NTSA) new fees, which would result in a 3,900 per cent increase.
“We cannot continue charging the same fees that have been in place for decades and expect NTSA to provide the same services to Kenyans. If one wants to change the colour for his motor vehicle, there is no reason why he cannot pay more than Sh20,000 for it (to be recorded in the logbook),” he said.
The CS said that with the prevailing economic hardships in the country, it was impossible to expect the NTSA to ask the National Treasury for funds to implement the various programmes it needs to make it efficient.
“But I want to state that the changes proposed will be subjected to a public participation process with parliament having a say on it,” he said.
Speaking on Citizen TV on Monday evening, Murkomen said that traffic policemen manning various roads would eventually be replaced by the use of technology. He said there were plans to install cameras at 421 intersections in Nairobi and Kiambu counties, which would be extended to Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu cities, then Eldoret and other major towns in Kenya.
“Cameras have been installed in some parts of Nairobi on a trial basis and we have learnt a lot from them with the possibility that once they are fully operational, a lot of revenue will be collected through imposing instant fines to motorists,” Murkomen said.
Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen (centre) inspects the recently flooded Mbogolo Bridge and Mtwapa-Kilifi road in Kilifi County. He is accompanied by Kilifi North DCC Samuel Mutisya (right) and other county officials.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
He said the government was keen to secure a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to upgrade the major highways, especially the Mombasa-Nairobi and Nairobi-Nakuru-Malaba dual carriageways to reduce road accidents.
The CS said the Nithi Bridge, which has become the cause of major accidents, would not be reconstructed immediately because of the colossal sums involved.
“Kenha is putting in place stop-gap measures to curb road accidents on the bridge that has become a black spot, until such a time that we have funds to redesign it,” he added.
The Naivasha, Ngata, Salgaa and Timboroa sections of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Eldoret route are the worst accident spots in the country.
A number of measures have been put in place to curb road accidents during the festive season, which traditionally claims lives due to cases of drink-driving, speeding, overloading, careless overtaking, poor infrastructure and bad weather.
