That rocky road (make that a bumpy, pitted, washed-away road) that has been a barrier to effective transport in Kenya for a long time could perhaps soon be fixed as the government has finally released money for the construction of roads in the country, Sh14.5 billion of it under the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) for the construction and maintenance of roads in counties across the country.

GIDEON MOI – MONEY ON ITS WAY

Contractors working for KURA and KERRA have for some time downed their tools, citing lack of payments and funds from the government but now with the discharge of money, according to Gideon Moi, the Chairman of The Senate Committee on Energy, Roads and Transport, the contractors could be paid as from next week in order to enable them to complete the stalled projects.

The Kenya Urban Roads Authority is a state corporation established under the Kenya Roads Act, 2007,with the responsibility for the development, maintenance, rehabilitation and management of urban roads in Kenya while the Kenya Rural Roads Authority, also a state corporation, has a mandate of providing guidance in construction, maintenance and management of the rural road network in the country.

COMPLETED PROJECTS SINCE KURA’S INCEPTION

Since its inception in 2008, KURA has been undertaking ambitious projects with the aim of improving the country’s road infrastructure as envisaged in the Road Sector Investment Program (RSIP) and Vision 2030 flagship projects. Some of the completed projects include the now complete Northern and Eastern Bypass within the City of Nairobi, the rehabilitation of Kenyatta Avenue and Park Road from May 2012 to January 2013, and the maintenance of harambee estates between 30th July and 29 November 2012, among others.

NEW ROADS SHOULD BE BUILT PROPERLY

The new money for roads’ projects in Kenya should be welcomed says the Kenya Forum but we add this cautionary request: build the roads properly in the first place, made to last.

When it rains in Kenya, it can pour, rapidly undermining badly made roads. How often have we all seen it? A new road is built or an old road mended, only to find six months later that it is full of holes, its edges subsiding away into the mud.

So, Senator Moi, thanks for the money but if it’s spent on poorly made temporary roads it will be wasted. Action to oversee the quality of the roads built will be a short term cost but a long-term saving.