Sh6 billion road deal to change Meru county’s fortunes

By Roselyne Obala

Meru, Kenya: Meru County Governor Peter Munya has struck a deal with Malaysia for construction of a 300-kilometre road at low cost.

At Sh22 million per kilometre, the total cost is Sh6.6 billion, which Munya explained is a third of the national infrastructure cost. “This cost is lower than the national infrastructure cost of Sh60 million per kilometre,” Munya said.

The project is split into two phases. “The 50 kilometres in the first phase will kick off in January and last for eight months. The remaining 250 kilometres will be completed in two years,” he added.

Malaysia’s Exim bank is financing the project and the county government will repay the loan in ten years. Each year the county will set aside Sh500 million, Munya told a news conference in Nairobi at the weekend.

Munya explained that the funds would be drawn from the county’s infrastructure budget and since this year’s allocation is Sh900 million, the balance of Sh400 million would be spent on other infrastructural projects.

At the same time, Munya has termed the banned sale of miraa in Garissa County as ill-advised and discriminatory.

He said half of the county’s population grows miraa and therefore blocking its sale in some counties would be retrogressive. “Passing a law in any county to prohibit the trade of a product or crop is contrary to the law and against the national interest,” he reiterated.

Munya stated that the crop is a major local and foreign income earner and is guarded jealously by the locals to boost the economy of the region. “Barring the sale of this crop in any part of the country, transportation or charging a high service charge is against the law,” he said.

Without restrictions

“I urged my colleague in Garissa to rethink the matter and change his position,” he said of governor Nathif Adam.

Munya said the law allows Kenyans to settle anywhere in the country, trade and seek employment without restrictions. “Let us not have policies that are discriminatory, divisive and against national interest and instead promote national cohesion,” he said.

Munya also condemned the Machakos government’s law on miraa. “The huge charges on miraa in Machakos are unfair. If the county has to have high charges on crops let it be across the board and not discriminatory,” he appealed.

The governor argued that trade involved interaction and coming up with laws that are unfriendly to the people would invite similar treatment in other counties.

“I call on the national government to advise county governments against being misled but come up with policies that promote national interest,” he urged.

The Meru governor also said they were still pursuing the case of the banned sale of miraa in the UK and remained optimistic that they would win. “Due process was not followed in banning the sale,” he explained.