Governors want cash for minor roads

Governors want the government to transfer the roads function to counties.

Their demand is one of the key agendas for discussion in Thursday’s governors’ council meeting with the national government.

The council’s secretary Ken Lusaka said on Wednesday the meeting was aimed at compelling the central government to allocate counties the road construction funds.

Mr Lusaka said the fact that road construction was still under the national government meant that counties could not fast-track development and improve their economies.

“What we had agreed on earlier was that the international trunk roads be left under maintenance of the national government and the others devolved to the counties,” he said.

A meeting at the Kenya School of Government involving the council, national government and Transitional Authority failed to agree on how to manage the roads funds.

Mr Lusaka said part of Thursday’s discussion would be about the transfer of Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority to the counties.

“The fourth schedule of the Constitution had accorded us this function. The only problem now lies with the Ministry of Roads,” said Mr Lusaka.

“Denying us these functions is a total breach of the Constitution,” he said while acknowledging that how to classify roads that are to be devolved to the counties remained the major challenge.

“We have always been in agreement that major highway roads of classes A and B be left to the national government while we retain the rest.”

Kenya National Highways Authority classifies roads as international trunk roads (Class A), National Trunk Roads (Class B), primary roads (Class C), secondary roads (Class D) and minor roads (Class E).