Governors are accusing Members of the National Assembly (MPS) of attempting to deny them billions collected under the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF).
In a statement on Thursday, February 27, the Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG), Ahmed Abdullahi, indicated that they are constitutionally mandated to receive the funding for road maintenance.
However, the CoG accused MPs of deliberately withholding RMLF allocations from Counties, an act they say undermines devolution and service delivery.
In the strongly worded statement, Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi condemned remarks made by some MPs regarding the allocation of the funds, terming them “unpatriotic, in bad taste, and ignorant of constitutional provisions.”
“For clarity, the National Government has been assigned national trunk roads whereas County Governments have been entrusted to manage County roads.
“Notably, the County Governments construct and maintain the bulk of our Kenyan roads. The Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) is a fund that was specially established to maintain roads constructed and maintained by the two levels of government,” he stated.
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Governors Accuse MPs of Withholding Funds
Further, the CoG accused MPs of deliberately withholding the allocations from Counties, undermining devolution and service delivery.
They have argued that the National Assembly has delayed passing the County Governments Additional Allocations Act 2024/25, which provides additional resources to Counties, to interfere with their ability to maintain roads.
Also, the Council pointed fingers at MPs for attempting to control national road agencies, such as the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), even though these agencies are performing County functions.
“We need to note that the Members of the National Assembly have demonstrated benightedness by denying one level of Government Constitutionally entitled funds meant for maintenance of roads that they develop.
Also Read: KeNHA Explains Reasons for Proposing Toll Fees on 6 Other Major Roads
“The Council is perturbed by these remarks, which are unsubstantiated and an affront to devolution,” added the statement.
Consequently, the CoG has called on the Senate, Civil Society Groups, and the public to hold the National Assembly accountable and ensure that Counties are not denied funding.
Additionally, they are pushing for amendments to the Roads Act, 2007, to align it with the Constitution and a Cabinet resolution to merge KeRRA and KURA, ensuring that these agencies do not duplicate County responsibilities.
Earlier, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) proposed the introduction of toll fees on roads across the country to help contribute to repaying loans used for the construction of some of the roads.
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