This archive report was first published on 16 September 2019.
On Monday, Machakos Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua inspected ongoing road construction works in Syokimau, Katani, and Githunguri in Mavoko Sub County.
During the inspection, Mutua expressed concern over the high cost of road construction in Kenya, citing exaggerated billing and skewed designs as major contributors to the issue.
“In Kenya, we have been doing our roads at much higher cost than in the developed world due to exaggerated billing and skewed designs,” Mutua said.
He noted that huge amounts of taxpayers’ money were being diverted to the pockets of corrupt individuals through dubious quotations, engineering, and design of roads.
Mutua called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to consider implementing a review of the policy on costing of all categories of roads and setting price ceilings to prevent funds from being lost through corrupt processes.
“Why should a certain road in Kenya cost, for instance, Ksh.80 million while the same road in Uganda costs Ksh.20 million under similar conditions? It is because certain people want to siphon public funds,” he said.
The governor emphasized his administration’s commitment to undertaking massive infrastructural development across the county to enhance faster movement of goods and people, promoting trade and investment.
He announced that inter-linking roads would be immediately opened up, while the county government continues to fix and tarmac other roads in the area.
