Northeastern MPs question road agency's skewed resource allocation
MP Mohamed Adow said for the last three and a half weeks no vehicle has been able to access his constituency as a result of poor roads coupled with heavy rains
Members of Parliament from Northeastern have questioned the criteria used by Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) to allocate resources that they said tilted against the region.
Wajir South Member of Parliament Mohamed Adow and Nominated MP Umulkheir Harun termed the move as the government's continuous marginalisation in the region.
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Mohamed said Northeastern is a monument for marginalisation with currently no vehicle going into the counties as a result of the poor road network.
“It's baffling to hear that pampered parts of the country complain of marginalisation. There is a difference between bad roads and no roads, what we have is there are no roads, we cannot even describe them as a road,” he told parliament.
The Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) released an estimation of tender notices for the improvement of various roads and the construction of drainage structures.
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MP Mohamed said for the last three and a half weeks no vehicle has been able to access his constituency as a result of poor roads coupled with heavy rains, this he said is despite the government's promise that they are going to open up the region.
“We hear promises from the government that they are going to deliver the Horn of Africa gateway project, which many people from Northeastern believe is a hoax when they are going to see contractors on site for a project that NEP has been waiting for the last 60 years,” he said.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly during the appearance of Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Kipchumba Murkomen, Nominated MP Umulkheir Harun questioned the criteria the agency used to allocate resources in different counties.
“I want to understand why a particular county is able to get Sh1.8 billion when Garissa has only 100 million while others have zero allocation,” she said.
The lawmaker said the resources should be according to the needs noting that Garissa and other Northeastern counties are currently grappling with insecurity.
“Improvised Explosive Devices are put in roads that are not tarmacked, let us look into these issues to also secure our borders," she said.
While responding to questions raised by legislators, Murkomen acknowledged that Garissa is one of the marginalised counties, but noted that they are doing ‘major plans’ with development partners.
The CS alluded that some roads were poorly constructed by the previous administration while also mentioning various road projects that are ongoing.
“The roads to Garissa are ongoing, the roads to Isiolo-KulaMawe-Modogashe are almost done, and there are a good number of projects in the north that if delivered will open up the region,” the CS told parliament.
The CS told the assembly that some of the contracts in the region are not less than Sh60 billion, adding that the Kenya Kwanza Government is committed to ensuring the marginalised counties are at par with other counties in the country.
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