NAIROBI, Kenya – The Council of Governors (CoG) has strongly criticized members of the National Assembly over their remarks concerning the allocation of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) to counties, calling the statements “unfortunate, in bad taste, and unpatriotic.”
In a statement, CoG Chair Ahmed Abdullahi accused lawmakers of undermining county governments by attempting to withhold funds meant for road maintenance.
He emphasized that counties play a critical role in road development, constructing and maintaining the majority of Kenya’s roads.
“For clarity, the national government is responsible for national trunk roads, while county governments are mandated to manage county roads. As a matter of fact, counties have developed and maintained the bulk of our road network,” Abdullahi said.
He cited a 2024 Road Condition and Inventory Survey by the Kenya Roads Board, which showed that counties had increased their tarmacked road network from 4,200 kilometers in 2018 to 5,400 kilometers in 2024.
Abdullahi accused MPs of deliberately denying counties their rightful share of the RMLF in an attempt to consolidate control over road projects.
“This move is a selfish ploy by MPs who want to dominate national road agencies, disregarding constitutional provisions that assign these responsibilities to counties,” he stated.
The CoG chair urged Parliament to focus on reviewing and amending outdated road sector laws, particularly the Roads Act, 2007, to align with the 2010 Constitution.
He noted that the government had previously resolved to merge the Kenya Rural Roads Authority and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, as their functions largely fall under county governments.
The CoG is now rallying the Senate, civil society groups, and the public to push back against what it describes as a “malicious attempt” by MPs to sideline counties from benefiting from the RMLF.
“The National Assembly must be held accountable for this blatant overreach,” Abdullahi said.
