Inside President Uhuru Kenyatta's Sh38 billion bag of road goodies

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto at the commissioning of Kapsiro-Namuela Road in Bungoma County on Wednesday. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

As the dust settles on President Uhuru Kenyatta's whirlwind tour of Ukambani, Rift valley and Western Kenya, it has emerged no funds had been allocated in 2016/17 Supplementary Budget for most of the roads whose construction he commissioned.

Notably, of the 15 roads launched by Uhuru and his deputy William Ruto, only two have been appropriated by recent Supplementary Budget that allocated funds to the various national government projects to be implemented in the current financial year that ends in June 2017.

However, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia denied the claims, saying all the roads commissioned had been appropriated for and more will be launched early next year as part of the government's effort to increase road network in the country.

Mr Macharia rubbished claims that the commissioning of the roads were part of the President's 2017 re-election campaigns.

"We have launched 2,337 kilometres of roads and between January and end of March 2017, we intend to unveil more. Our target is to put under construction 7,000 kilometres of tarmac, which will translate to half of the 14,000 kilometres built in the country since 1900," Macharia said.

Cumulatively, the President commissioned close to 500 kilometres of roads worth an approximate Sh38 billion in his tour of the three populous regions.

Over the last three weeks, Uhuru and Ruto have shuttled from Eastern to Western through the expansive Rift Valley, doling out billions of shillings in roads projects in what is seen as an earnest start to their 2017 re-election bid.

Apart from the Kibwezi-Kitui road funded by the Chinese government and the Chepterit-Kimondi road, the others are not captured by the State Department of Transport in the list of the 133 roads to be constructed and 92 to be rehabilitated.

None of the roads had also been factored in the road designs for the financial year ending June 2017.

But in the tour of Western Kenya, Uhuru and Ruto launched six roads with a cumulative Sh9.7 billion bill. They are Kopsiro-Kapsokwony, Malaba-Rwatama-Malakisi, Busia-Malaba, Ibokolo-Shianda-Malakha and Lurambi-Navakholo-Musikoma roads.

They also issued 465 title deeds to Chebyuk settlement scheme residents, opened Rai Paper Factory (formerly Pan-Paper Mills) and commissioned medical equipment at Kakamega General and Busia County hospitals.

The western leg of the tour came days after the President and his deputy completed another visit of Rift Valley, where five road construction projects worth more than Sh10 billion in Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties were commissioned.

A week before the tour of the Rift Valley, the duo had been to Ukambani where they unveiled the upgrading to bitumen standards of the 192-kilometre Kibwezi–Mutomo-Kitui and the Kabati-Migwani roads. Both will cost Sh18.4 billion.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said the construction of the Kibwezi-Mutomo-Kitui road will be funded by China-Exim bank.

"We have devised a concept that we call a 'buyer's credit' in funding this project. The China-Exim bank will come up with the construction funds, while another Chinese company called Sino-hydro Ltd will take up the construction tender," Rotich said.

The loan will have a repayment period of 15 years at an annual interest rate of three per cent, he said.

Rotich said other recently commissioned road projects were in the current budget under low seal road programme.

"The Ministry of Infrastructure should be able to provide any information on the road projects and financing within its budget allocation for the 2016/17 financial year and the medium term," Rotich said.

In an interview with The Standard on Sunday, transport CS Macharia said the construction of the roads would cost Sh216 billion over a period of three years and the government was determined to complete them.

"In early January, President Kenyatta will launch the Lamu-Garsen road, which will open up the counties of Lamu and Tana River," he said.

An investigation by The Standard on Sunday revealed that some of the roads launched by the President in November last year like the Lwakhakha-Chwele road in Bungoma were yet to be constructed.

Similarly, the machinery that had been set up for the construction of the Kibwezi-Mutomo-Kitui road was moved three days after the President commissioned its construction, raising questions on the preparedness for the government to undertake the project.