By Tajeu Shadrack Nkapapa
The Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport appreciated Kenyans across the Country for turning up in large numbers to give their views on the maintenance of roads.
According to Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen, It is worth noting that there has been a considerable increase in the country’s road network from 166,451km in 2016 to the current 239,122km which requires regular maintenance from the Ksh18 provided for by the Road Maintenance Levy that has been in place for the last eight years.
“As a country, we are grappling with a maintenance deficit of Sh78 billion this financial year alone. With the current trend, it is projected that by Financial Year 2028/2029 this financing gap will rise to Sh315 billion,” CS Murkomen wrote on X.
“Most of these abandoned roads are under the Low Volume Seal programme which have never been maintained in the last 10 years and are on the verge of being wiped away altogether,” he added.
“The Roads Maintenance Levy Review is, therefore, intended to fill this gap.”
From the views collected across the country, many Kenyans are worried that an increase in the levy will result in a rise in the cost of living.
The CS for Roads promised to keep that in mind and analyse the reports received on email and social media platforms as well as the submissions made on Monday 8th July 2024.
With this, the Ministry will come up with a decision that corresponds with the recommendations from the public.
“We will explore ways of getting the resources we need to maintain roads, as expressed by Kenyans in their numbers, without raising the cost of living through an increase in petroleum prices,” Hon. Murkomen stated.
The CS said that considering recommendations made by Kenyan citizens, the ministry will only finalize the decision once they are confident that any revenue strategies implemented will not lead to an increase in the cost of living.