Murkomen rules out 'Uhuru-style' mega road projects in Ruto's first term

Some of the projects, he says, were ill-conceived and only meant to shore up political support and to respond to the public's appetite for good roads.

According to Murkomen, there are numerous stalled road construction projects countrywide with accumulated pending bills of Sh165 billion, as of the 2023/24 Financial Year, against a budget of Sh51 billion which was never disbursed in full due to budget constraints.

The Transport Ministry had hoped to raise Sh100 billion from the Finance Bill 2024 for its roads department, but the plan is now in limbo following the rejection of the government's tax hikes plan that led to the deadly June protests.

"The president is on top of this subject," declared the CS.

Contracts awarded by the ministry cumulatively amount to Sh700 billion that CS Murkomen says cannot be canceled due to massive financial penalties that the government may incur from litigations.

Show of opulence

Meanwhile, Murkomen has promised to tone down on his infamous display of opulence that has earned him a legion of critics in recent days, saying that this will allow Kenyans to interrogate his work more, and not his lifestyle.

"A shoe, or a watch, is not necessarily one of the most expensive things I have," said Murkomen, "I don't think I'm even ranking among the first seven cabinet members who have expensive watches. I'd be in the top 100 if my shoes were ranked with those of the current MPs."

"It is only my hope that the work I have done in the last 2 years will speak for me," CS Kipchumba Murkomen speaks on the looming Cabinet reshuffle@kipmurkomen

Interview by @njambigaitho pic.twitter.com/fXtI8x2Qsm

- KTN News (@KTNNewsKE) July 10, 2024