Kenyans will have to feel the pinch after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) increased Road Maintenance Levy from Kh 18 to Ksh25.
EPRA made the announcement on Sunday, July 14, 2024, when it reviewed fuel prices for the July – August cycle.
EPRA increased the levy by 35% despite earlier reassurance by the government that it would consider not raising the levy following public uproar from Kenyans.
Former Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen before his dismissal from Cabinet had promised that the government would explore other funding options.
Murkomen while responding to concerns raised by many Kenyans who were worried that an increase in the levy would result in a rise in the cost of living had warned Kenyans that should EPRA not impose the levy, most roads constructed in the last decade would go into ruins.
Also Read: EPRA Reduces Fuel Prices for July & August Cycle
The former CS explained that before contractors shift the responsibility to the national government, they are mandated to maintain a road for three years.
Former CS Murkomen on Road Maintenance Levy
According to Murkomen, it was unreasonable for the government to spend billions of shillings constructing roads and fail to maintain them.
“As a country, we are grappling with a maintenance deficit of Sh78 billion this financial year alone. With the current trend, it is projected that by Financial Year 2028/2029 this financing gap will rise to Ksh315 billion.
Most of these abandoned roads are under the Low Volume Seal program which have never been maintained in the last 10 years and are on the verge of being wiped away altogether. The Roads Maintenance Levy Review is, therefore, intended to fill this gap,” said Murkomen back then.
However, the former CS promised that the government would instead explore other ways of increasing revenue collected from the levy following opposition from Kenyans during the public participation phase.
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The ex-Cabinet Secretary said that the government would analyze the reports received on email and social media platforms as well as the submissions made in the public participations to come up with a decision that corresponds with the recommendations from the public.
“We will explore ways of getting the resources we need to maintain roads, as expressed by Kenyans in their numbers, without raising the cost of living through an increase in petroleum prices.
As suggested by Kenyans, we will only make this decision when we are certain that any revenue measures adopted will not result in a rise in the cost of living,” he said.
EPRA Increases Levy After Proposal
EPRA will now collect Ksh115 billion per year with the new rates which will be used to repair existing roads.
The increase of the levy came following a proposal by the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) which had proposed a 39 per cent increase levy that was initially set at Ksh18 per liter.
According to KRB, the government had not revised the road maintenance levy since 2016 which had resulted to a Ksh727 billion road maintenance backlog.
KRB further argued that even with the 39 per cent increase, it was not enough to clear the backlog and as such, the amount levy will be revised up again in 2027.
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