Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma has tabled a Bill that seeks to compel the national government to allocate five percent of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) to devolved units.
If passed, the Bill would entitle counties to a direct share of a fund whose annual collections stood at Sh119.7 billion as at the close of June this year.
The Business Daily unpacks what could change in the roads maintenance and rehabilitation landscape.
The Road Maintenance Levy is a fuel-based charge imposed on every litre of petrol and diesel sold in Kenya. Currently set at Sh25 per litre, the levy is collected by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and is specifically earmarked for maintenance and rehabilitation of public roads countrywide.
How is the levy currently structured and managed?
The funds raised from the levy are channeled into the RMLF, which is managed by the Kenya Roads Board (KRB).
KRB allocates these funds to various national road agencies – mainly Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for national roads, Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) for urban roads, and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) for rural roads.
These allocations are based on approved annual work programmes and technical assessments, with no direct funding going to county governments.
How are county roads currently financed and maintained system?
Counties are constitutionally mandated to manage and maintain county roads, which include access roads, feeder roads, and other local routes not classified as national.
The devolved units do not, however, receive direct allocations from the RMLF. Instead they rely on their equitable share of national revenue, supplemented occasionally by grants from development partners.
This often leads to underfunding and delays in road maintenance, especially in rural and marginalised areas.
What does the proposed Bill seek to change?
The proposed bill aims to compel the national government to allocate five percent of the RMLF collections directly to counties. The funds would be earmarked specifically for the rehabilitation and maintenance of county roads.
This change would give counties a guaranteed and predictable share of the fund, aligning financing more closely with their service delivery responsibilities. “This is aimed at ensuring that the county governments have access to financial resources specifically earmarked for the maintenance, rehabilitation, and development of county roads,” said Kaluma.
How much would counties potentially receive if the Bill is passed?
Based on recent disclosures, the tax body collected Sh119.66 billion in RML during the year ended June 2025, meaning a five percent allocation would have given counties access to approximately Sh6 billion during the period.
While this is a relatively tiny fraction of the total, it represents a significant injection of road maintenance funds for counties that currently receive no direct share from the levy.
How would the five percent share be distributed among the counties?
While the bill does not provide full clarity on how the county share would be distributed, among the possible options would include giving an equal share across all the 47 devolved units, formula-based allocation using criteria such as road network size, population, or historical underinvestment, as well as performance-based disbursement, which could be tied to planning and reporting standards.
How would this shift affect the KRB and other national road agencies?
A five percent diversion of funds from the RMLF could slightly tighten the budgets of national agencies as they are accustomed to managing the full fund and may need to adjust plans.
For the KRB, the change may also require it to revise its funding model, oversight framework, and coordination mechanisms with counties, many of which currently operate outside its jurisdiction.
Alternatively, a new oversight mechanism specific to counties may need to be established, either within KRB or independently.
What coordination challenges could emerge between national and county road agencies?
Overlap in road classifications could lead to duplication of effort, confusion over responsibility, or misaligned projects. Without clear demarcation and coordination protocols between KeRRA and the county governments, the risk of inefficiency or wastage could increase.
The current laws governing KRB and road funding could also require amendments to accommodate county involvement.
How would the Bill reshape infrastructure funding and fiscal decentralisation in the country?
If enacted, the Bill is touted to usher in a significant step towards fiscal devolution, which means aligning financial resources with the mandates that counties already have. It could also set a precedent for other shared national revenues and deepen county-level autonomy, especially if paired with stronger accountability frameworks.
