Don’t Mess with Nairobi’s Roads; Governor Sakaja Weighs in
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has recently respond to the increasing concern from the public in regard to the poor standard state of the roads in the city due to roles played by both National and County governments.
Points not missed by any ear from the speech made by Governor Sakaja
duty of road maintenance
National vs. County Roads: Sakaja sought to explain that most of the broadways including Jogoo Road, Uhuru Highway, Arwings Kodhek, Gitanga Road among others are controlled by national departments and parastatals including KeNHA and KURA.
Limited County Resources: He however pointed out that the county has no capacity to maintain such roads as most of them are funded and managed by the national government.
Road Maintenance Levy Fund
Allocation Challenges: Sakaja has accused the current system whereby the road maintenance levy fund, which is collected through fuel levies, is controlled by the national government and provided to MPs through CDF.
Council of Governors (CoG) Advocacy: The Council of Governors has advocated for the money to be channeled to the counties so as improve on maintenance of roads which interconnect the sub-counties or cut across several counties.
Efforts to Address the Issue
Funding Secured: In his address, the governor was quick to mention that the government has set aside Ksh.5 Billion to undertake road repair work including the CBD, Jogoo Road, and Soweto in Kayole.
Cooperation with National Agencies: Sakaja said that, according to the Urban Areas and Cities Act, both the national and county government have the legal basis for partnership on infrastructure in the capital.
Commitment to County Roads
Accountability: The governor noted that there have been raised concerns on some of the roads that are managed by the county such as Chania Avenue, Kindaruma and Wood Avenue tarmacking on black cotton soil it deteriorates very fast.
Reconstruction Plans: He promised on definite rehabilitation not repaving to sustain these roads for the longest time possible.
During his speech, Governor Sakaja pointed out the current inadequate cooperation between the national and county governments in providing adequate infrastructure in Nairobi. In absolving his administration of responsibility on roads under the jurisdiction of the national government he vowed to improve on county roads and advocated for increased reforms on the funding of road maintenance to adequately support Nairobian citizens.