Senate summons CS Chirchir over 13-year road functions deadlock
Senators stressed that the devolution of road functions is meant to improve service delivery, not create conflicts between public agencies.
The Senate has resolved to summon Transport CS Davis Chirchir to resolve a 13-year deadlock over devolving road functions to counties.
Legislators are also planning a forum with KERRA, IGRTC, and governors’ representatives to break the impasse and ensure that road maintenance funds reach county governments.
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Senators are demanding the fair distribution of Sh19 billion allocated for county road development.
The move comes after a tense session with the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) on Tuesday, which highlighted ongoing delays in transferring road responsibilities to local governments.
During the meeting with KURA Director General Eng. Silas Kinoti, senators expressed frustration that, despite a Cabinet directive to merge KURA and KERRA, an IGRTC notice for rationalisation, and a court ruling confirming counties’ responsibility for roads, no tangible steps have been taken to devolve these functions.
Senators pointed to operational overlaps, with KURA continuing to develop urban estate roads, which they say have disrupted service delivery. Nairobi’s recent floods exposed the gaps, as neither KURA nor the county government took full responsibility.
Eng. Kinoti defended KURA, explaining that the authority manages National Urban Trunk Roads and often partners with counties, sometimes even administering county funds.
“I want to remove the fear that we are resisting. We do not have any problem with where we provide our services. For instance, we have an agreement with counties like Mandera to manage their roads for them using their budget,” Kinoti said.
He argued that KURA’s continued involvement is necessary because most counties lack the capacity to manage these roads. He cautioned that rushing the transfer of functions could undo progress in the road sector and proposed that counties pool resources to form centralised road management entities.
Senators dismissed these arguments, viewing the inaction as resistance from national government officers.
Senator Abbas criticised the current funding model, noting the inequities in road network development across counties.
“We want the money used to build and repair roads to be devolved to the county governments. The government should take the Sh19 billion allocated to KURA and split it among the 47 counties. This will make it equitable and fair to counties,” he asserted.
Senators stressed that the devolution of road functions is meant to improve service delivery, not create conflicts between public agencies.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka emphasised the importance of following the constitutional framework, saying, “Be mindful that devolution came to help us deliver services faster. We must get people in parastatals who are patriotic enough to help us implement devolution. I can assure you that KURA employees will not lose their jobs when we devolve these functions. The expertise we need in your sector is not enough.”
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