The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) has explained the cancellation of Ksh2 billion road tenders following concerns from Kenyans.
In a statement dated Thursday, May 9, KURA noted that the cancellation was done owing to the heavy rains that were witnessed in recent weeks.
KURA expounded that the rains caused a lot of destruction to the road infrastructure hence the need to pause the projects and do an analysis.
The road agency added that a review would be done based on the damages and a new tender would be advertised soon.
"We note the valid concern regarding the cancellation of recent tenders. The cancellation was necessitated by the unprecedented damage by the current heavy rains which has greatly affected the condition of many roads.
"The roads will be done but after a new scoping which takes cognisance of their current state. Rescoping will be done immediately after the rains subside to capture current conditions and also address immediate needs as a matter of priority," read the statement in part.
KURA made the remarks after Kenyans raised concerns over the abrupt cancellation of the projects.
The road projects that were set to be undertaken in urban centres were to be funded by the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) which motorists pay during the purchase of fuel.
Notably, a section of legislators had also called out the road agency for leaving out sections of the country in the multi-billion road tender.
Most of the projects were destined for Nairobi, Machakos, Mombasa and Kiambu.
"What explains this kind of revenue share disparity and regional favouritism? Is this fair to the people of Githunguri who overwhelmingly voted for this government?
"For KURA roads funds Kikuyu gets 63 percent i.e. Ksh220 million out of Ksh350 million allocated to all Kiambu’s 12 constituencies. Whereas I appreciate Kikuyu getting some development we should be fair in the sharing," Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba questioned.
