By JAMES MUNYEKI
For farmers and traders in the agriculturally rich Nyeri and Nyahururu counties, the poor state of the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway spells doom and the current heavy rains have worsened the situation.
Ironically, the road has emerged as a source of income for unemployed youths. The youths levy a fee for rescuing motorists whose vehicles stall or get stuck on the road. They also, at a fee, direct motorists on how to manoeuvre their way in the murky valley-like potholes on the roads.
The youth have also come up with innovative ways of warning motorists of the bad sections where they can get stuck. They do this by placing tree branches on the bad sections of the road.
The state of the road worsens with each passing day due to heavy rains that continue to pound the region.
Trucks transporting livestock and agricultural produce bear the full brunt of the poor state of the road. Public Service Vehicles (PSVs), too, have not been spared.
Nyandarua Kenya National Chamber of Commerce (NKNCC) chairman Wahome Kamoche says farmers and traders have been losing over Sh10 million every month due to the deplorable state of the highway.
"Traders and farmers from Nyeri and Nyandarua plying the road incur heavy losses amounting to more than Sh10 million monthly occasioned by breakdown of vehicles leading to delayed deliveries and excessive overhead expenditures," said NKNCC chairman Mr Kamoche.
Travellers using PSVs plying the road have been now been forced to hike fares because of the poor state of the road. Other PSV have threatened to withdraw their vehicles from the route.
Matatu drivers told The Standard On Sunday the failure by Government to rehabilitate the road had impacted badly on business as they have to incur huge losses on vehicle maintenance.
James Ndirangu, a driver, regretted they are being forced to use alternative routes to reach their destination as they normally get stuck on some sections of the potholed road, which are now impassable.
"The road is in a very bad state; the situation has been worsened by the heavy rains. We used to deviate from the road and venture on the rough road, but the deviations are now muddy and impassable," Mr Ndirangu says.
Impassable road
He said potholes are usually flooded with water when it rains and this makes it difficult to navigate around them, leading to a transport crisis. "We are even forced to abandon duty whenever it rains since there are some parts that are impassable. Our vehicles are wearing out everyday as a result and yet the Government is doing nothing," said Ndirangu.
It does not help that a contractor who had been commissioned to work on the road left the site after funds for the project got finished.
"The contractor pulled out of the road six months ago and the situation has been moving from bad to worse. It is just a matter of time before operations on the road stop," the driver said.
The worst affected sections, he said, were areas between Wiyumiririe and Nyahururu town, which were not factored in the road re-carpeting budget.
Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, whose constituency the worn out road falls under witnessed what drivers and commuters go through when he toured the road on Friday.
He blamed the Ministry of Roads engineers who designed the road for underestimating the cost.
"They allocated was not enough and hence a section of nearly 40 kilometres has not been repaired. This is what has caused the contractor who is doing a good job to abandon it," Mr Kioni said.
He regretted farmers in the region have also suffered while transporting their produce to the market, as some sections of the road are impassable.
He said his efforts to have the ministry officials tour the road to witness its situation has fallen on deaf ears.
"I have been to the roads ministry several times and yet my efforts have borne no fruit. The Government should set aside more funds so that the road can be completed, failure to which transport from Nyeri to Nyahururu will disrupted," he said.
Tendering process
Traders and motorists have protested over failure by the Government to re-carpet or reconstruct the road, which is impassable at Maili Nne, Kakogo and Manguo sections, subjecting them to heavy losses.
However Kenya National Highway Authority Director General Meshack Kidenda confirmed the road was in dire need of reconstruction. He said the authority had already tendered for contractors to carry out the work.
"Plans are underway for the reconstruction of the road and the estimates for the work is Sh1 billion. The work will commence as soon as the tendering process is complete," he said.
