Unmet promises put a damper on spirit of voters in South Rift region

 

President William Ruto. [Phares Mutembei, Standard]

As President William Ruto campaigned for State House last year, he made promises to residents of the South Rift region that projects initiated by his predecessor would be completed to benefit them.

However, more than one year after assuming office,  scores of flagship projects in the region remain in limbo with no clear indication as to when their construction will be commencing.

The projects are mainly major roads, key dams, airport and industrial parks, among others.

One of the key project in Nakuru is the Sh3 billion upgrading of the Lanet Military Airstrip to an international airport for use by both military and civilian aircraft.

The facility located next to Kenya Military Academy, about 10 kilometres west of Nakuru City was expected to spur economic activities in the region.

Immediate former governor Lee Kinyanjui said during its lauch that the facility would enhance export of flowers from the region and also stimulate tourism industry.

Kinyanjui had during his campaign for the seat pledged that he would lobby the national government to construct an airport in Nakuru County.

The construction of the airport in the region has been pending for close to three decades when the government acquired close to 600 acres for the purpose.

Kinyanjui received the backing of former President Uhuru Kenyatta whose administration partnered with the county to commence the construction of the facility.

The upgrading of the facility which commenced in 2021 was scheduled to be complete by July, 2022, ahead of the August General Election.

The completion date was later moved to November of the same year, and no further communication has been made on the progress of work at the facility.

The construction work was scheduled to be carried out in two phases, with the first phase covering the expansion of the runway from 1.1 kilometre to 1.7 kilometre allocated Sh406 million.

But the new county administration under Governor Susan Kihika has been silent over the airport project.

Former Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri who was among the leaders who supported the project, says the Kenya Kwanza government will fulfill its promises to voters.

“Especially here in Nakuru County, all the projects that the president promised will be completed. We have a challenge as a country but once the foreign debts are paid, as the president promised, we will complete all the projects,” Ngunjiri said.

He appealed to voters in the region with the Ruto government, revealing that all projects that had stalled due to money, would be revived.

“There were a lot of pending bills from the previous government, some of the project cost were inflated, the new government had to review and suspend them. But things are looking good now,” he said.

Kenya Railways and Kenya Ports Authority officials offload cargo from the SGR train to the Meter Gauge Railway cargo train at the Inland Container Depot in Mai Mahiu Naivasha for onwards transportation to Malaba. [File, Standard]

Another key project that has stalled is the dualing of the 175-kilometre section of the Rironi-Mau Summit highway.

The project whose construction was scheduled to be complete by 2025 was to be undertaken through Public-Private Partnership, with the intention of improving connectivity to the Rift Valley and Western Kenya regions and beyond.

The construction of the road estimated to cost Sh180 billion (US $ 1.3) was billed as Kenya’s most expensive road project. The cost could be higher given the depreciation of the shilling against the dollar.

The previous administration had already identified a consortium of French firms, Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund, and Vinci Concessions SAS to construct the road.

The construction firm was supposed to recoup its investment in 30 years by charging toll fees on the road users.

The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank had also pledged to render financial support to the project, while the Kenya government had set aside slight over Sh800 million for compensation to individuals whose land was to be acquired for the project.

When the Kenya Kwanza administration assumed office, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen suspended the implementation of the project saying there were issues that needed to be addressed.

The CS said the cost of the construction of the road was enormous given that the country had huge debts that the design of the road had not provided an alternative for motorists who did not want to pay toll fees for using the road.

President Ruto in January met with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to France, where construction of the road featured in the bilateral talks.

This was also to be the largest French related project in the country.

An economic analysis conducted by the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) on the road indicated that it would boost productivity in the region, increase commercial efficiency, cut down on the cost and travel time, and alleviate the current perpetual traffic jams.

The road was to start at Rironi Township in Kiambu County, about 40 kilometres from Nairobi CBD and run through Naivasha, Gilgil and Nakuru towns, all in Nakuru County and end at Mau Summit area, also in Nakuru.

Nakuru and Naivasha are two major economic hubs within the region and form a vital part of the country’s road network leading to Central Kenya, Rift Valley and Western Kenya region.

The KeNHA analysis revealed that an estimated 16,000 vehicles used to the highway daily, with up to 40,000 vehicles in the busiest section of the road and which was projected to increase significantly over coming years.

There is also no forthcoming information on the dueling of the Bahati-Nakuru Road covering an estimated 20 kilometer stretch.

Three years ago, KeNHA ordered property owners whose businesses had encroached on the road reserve to remove them. A number of buildings were destroyed in preparation for the construction of the road.

The road had been planned for expansion to ease traffic jam. However, the construction of the road appears to have stalled in the run-up to the 2022 general election.

A number of road projects on the outskirts of Nakuru town also appear to have stalled.

Another project whose fate hangs in the balance is the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Naivasha, and the nearby Naivasha Special Economic Zone.

When President Ruto assumed office, he returned back all port operations transferred to Nairobi and Naivasha by his predecessor back to Mombasa.

President Uhuru Kenyatta administration in its effort to ensure the Standard Gauze Railway (SGR) had minimum guaranteed business to repay the Chinese loan which was taken to build it directed traders to use the modern railway line and transferred clearing services to Naivasha.

On his part, President Ruto during his inauguration said his decision to reverse the directive was aimed at restoring thousands of jobs in Mombasa.

The previous administration had argued that the Naivasha ICD would hasten transportation of cargo to western Kenya and neighboring countries and also decongesting the port of Mombasa.

Recently during a visit by the Saturday Standard, few trucks mainly collecting cargo from the SGR keep the workers ‘busy’ amid reports of drop in business with many transporters opting for the Port of Mombasa.

Lack of funding at the SEZ has been blamed for the low activity despite a Turkish investor committing Sh48 billion towards construction of five industries in the park in a span of five years.

In a presentation to the parliamentary committee on Trade and Industry, the CEO Special Economic Zone Authority Kenneth Chelule said that the park requires Sh10B to be fully operational.

Of this, Sh3.5 billion is required for the construction of the warehouses and another Sh2.7 billion for the waste water and sewerage by 2025 when the park was expected to be fully operational.

“Currently, there is zero-budget allocation for development in the 2022-23 financial year and thus the slow progress in the construction of the administration block,” he said.

Other major capital projects that are required include common effluent treatment plant (Sh2.7 billion), water reticulation (Sh198 million), internal roads (Sh273 million) and Sh200 million for perimeter wall.

For a visitor using the Mai Mahiu-Narok road, the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Kedong ranch remains just another promise by the government. Stalled buildings on the 1,000 acres and vandalised fence are a painful reminder of another promise that has failed to materialise.

In Kericho, construction of the Sondu-Koru dam is moving on a slow pace amid complaints the National Land Commission was yet to compensate all the land owners. 

 [Additional reporting by Nikko Tanui, Antony Gitonga and John Tiapukel]