Let Kenyans have a say on road works plans – Business Daily
Road works in Nakuru. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Rules giving Kenyans the right to choose which road construction projects get prioritised will ensure infrastructure serves the most urgent needs of the people who use them.
The Kenya Roads Board (General) Rules, 2022 tabled in Parliament by the Transport ministry require road agencies to hold stakeholder meetings to determine the order of road works before submitting the list for funding. Currently, the Kenya Roads Board Act stipulates that a road agency shall select the roads to be included in its Annual Road Programme.
This means that road projects would be selected without consulting the users sometimes leading to a mismatch between boardroom priorities and the needs of the people on the ground.
It is high time that government let the people determine the sections of the roads to be given priority as opposed to a few people sitting in boardrooms. It is good that the new rules also compel the road agencies to allocate at least 25 percent of the road works to be done by the local people.
The agencies will also be required to conduct an annual roads inventory survey to determine the proportion that requires maintenance.
