President Ruto sidelines governors with new Sh11.47 billion road fund
The funds, earmarked for feeder and rural roads, reignite long-standing tensions between MPs and county chiefs over control of infrastructure development.
A fresh battle is brewing between the national and county governments after President William Ruto’s administration introduced a Sh11.47 billion road works budget, effectively taking over rural road projects and sidelining governors.
The funds, earmarked for feeder and rural roads, reignite long-standing tensions between MPs and county chiefs over control of infrastructure development.
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The new vote, captured under the State Department for Roads in the 2025/26 budget estimates tabled in the National Assembly, redirects a significant share of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) to the national government. It comes as part of a broader strategy by President Ruto to consolidate oversight of roads and infrastructure, a key campaign promise and political tool.
A large share of the budget will go to the construction and upgrading of feeder and rural access roads, projects previously initiated by devolved units. This includes roadworks in politically strategic regions, particularly in Nyanza, where former Prime Minister Raila Odinga enjoys significant support.
“I am aware of the tussle between county governments and Parliament, especially over road maintenance funds,” President Ruto said during a public rally in Narok on Sunday.
“If you leave the money to me, I will organise to fund all the road projects. With that money, you end up building a small murram road from here to there. It is all washed away when it rains.”
In Nyanza, the government has allocated Sh100 million each to Suba South, Nyatike and Ndhiwa constituencies. These areas are considered Raila Odinga’s strongholds, and their inclusion is seen as part of Ruto’s strategy to make inroads in the region, especially if ODM does not field a presidential candidate in the 2027 election and supports his re-election bid.
Kieni constituency in Nyeri and Mandera County have also received allocations of Sh100 million each under the new road works vote.
In Migori County, the national government has taken over the upgrading of the Tella-Gogo road to bitumen standards, a project that was previously being funded by the county government’s Roads, Transport and Public Works Department. The road has been allocated Sh100 million in the new budget.
Another Sh300 million has been earmarked for the tarmacking of the Kanyawanga-Dede-Rapogi road in the same county. The county had injected Sh9.7 million into the project in the last financial year before it was transferred to the national government. The road was initially funded and managed under the 10 per cent RMLF by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA).
In Siaya County, the Wangarot-Kalendiu Road, previously under Kerra’s funding, has been allocated Sh100 million. Additionally, Sh200 million has been set aside for the upgrading of the Sidindi-Sigomere-Masiro road, a project that was to be funded by the Siaya county government but has now been absorbed into the national government’s infrastructure plan.
The developments come despite the government’s limited fiscal space to undertake large-scale infrastructure due to rising debt levels. Unlike his predecessors, President Ruto has not launched any major road projects since taking office, making the redirection of these funds toward smaller, strategic roads a notable shift in approach.
Odinga has however criticised the centralisation of road development, calling for the dissolution of KERRA and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA).
“Road construction should be left to county governments,” he said.
The rivalry over road projects is not new. MPs and governors alike view road construction as a critical way to demonstrate service delivery.
MPs fear losing political influence in their constituencies if road funding is removed from their orbit, while governors see road infrastructure as the most visible proof of their leadership ahead of elections.
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