Jubilee falls 68pc short of tarmacked roads target

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration is trailing its tarmacked road targets after building about 3,200 kilometres of bitumen roads between 2013 and end of last year, official data show.

The total length of tarmacked roads extended to 14,500km by end of 2016, up from 11,300km in 2013, the Economic Survey 2017 states. This reflects a 28 per cent increase.

The figures on tarmacked road network fall 68 per cent short of the 10,000km of roads that President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto pledged to build in their first term which ends on August 8.

That figure includes class D — linking county headquarters to its key centres, Class E — connects counties to miner centres and special purpose roads — connecting farms or factories to market — which were devolved last year.

“The development of bitumen roads has increased due to increased budgetary allocation,” the survey states.

During the period, the length of earth and gravel roads has also increased by 20,100km from 52,400km in the year that the Jubilee assumed power to 72,500km by December 31.

Taxpayers spent about Sh546 billion since 2013 on road works. Sh140 billion will be used to construct 1,247 kilometres of roads that have been ongoing since last year.

According to the recently launched service delivery portal, Jubilee “has built more highways, urban roads and also extended rural roads to where they are needed to open up areas to economic activity, trade and commerce”.

The portal says more than 2,000km of inter-city highways are also under construction with another 500km to be procured. Another 500km of urban roads, it adds, are also at different stages of construction or procurement.