•The funds serve as the primary source of funding for the annual road maintenance programmes, in the country.
•According to the 2023 Economic survey roads agencies are tipped for more funding this year after numerous complaints by the agencies.
Image: Courtsey
The amount that will go into the Road Maintenance Levy Fund is projected to increase by 22.1 per cent to Sh67.2 billion in the current financial year ending June 30, government now says.
This is an increase from the Sh55 billion that was allocated in the last financial year.
The funds serve as the primary source of funding for the annual road maintenance programmes in the country.
According to the Economic Survey 2023, roads agencies are tipped for more funding this year after numerous complaints tabled at Treasury.
The survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that disbursement by the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) from 2018-19 to 2022-23 will grow by 22.1 per cent.
“The actual funds disbursed in 2021-22 dropped by 37.2 per cent from Sh87.6 billion disbursed in 2020-21 to Sh55.0 billion in 2021-22,” the report states.
The projected increase follows a proposal by the government to increase their share of the Road Maintenance Levy fund to 50 per cent.
Currently, only 10 per cent of the road maintenance levy goes to development and the rest for maintenance of roads – filling potholes, paint markings and furniture.
In the financial year 2021-2022, Kenya Roads Board collected a total of Sh87.4 billion comprising roads maintenance levy and transit tolls for the development and maintenance of the road network in Kenya.
From the collections, the Kenya National Highways Authority was allocated Sh12.85 billion while the Kenya Rural Roads Authority got Sh10.85 billion.
The Urban roads agency got an allocation of Sh5.1 billion, Kenya Wildlife Service Sh340 million while other road agencies that are under the road sector investment programme were allocated Sh3.8 billion.
In 2022, the transport sector experienced a significant 24.5 per cent increase in output, making it one of the primary drivers of growth for the year.
This has been seen as a key area that will drive up the collection of road maintenance levy.
The output value of the sector rose from Sh2.3 trillion in 2021 to Sh2.9 trillion, and this figure could continue to rise in 2023.
Expenditure on roads is expected to increase from Sh177.1 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal year to Sh191.4 billion in 2022-23.
The easing of restrictions on personal movement, which had been implemented to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, played a significant role in the resurgence of the transport and storage sector.