- The road partly holds the key to the development of Busia and neighbouring counties as well as Kenya since it links two border towns that host entry points to East Africa’s landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
- It’s one of the projects that were launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto in the Western region in runner-up to the 2017 general election
Traders operating between Busia and Malaba towns have expressed displeasure with the government following delayed completion of a key road linking the two towns.
The Malaba-Busia road was expected to open up Busia as the key border town and ease movement of goods and people across the Kenya-Uganda common border once complete.
It’s one of the projects that was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto in the Western region in runner-up to the 2017 General Election. During the launch, President Kenyatta said the road would open up Busia and link residents of the county to Uganda. It was to cost Sh1 billion.
The road partly holds the key to the development of Busia and the neighbouring counties as well as Kenya since it links two border towns that host entry points to East Africa’s landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
Those adversely affected are business people plying the Busia-Malaba road, whose construction has dragged on for over two years.
“When the President and the deputy came to launch the tarmacking of the 30km road, I was excited because I was sure my commercial motorcycle business would boom between the two towns. It’s disappointing that two years on, there is no hope of the tarmac reaching Malaba from Busia,” Patrick Emukule, who manages a fleet of boda boda motorcycles, said.
“I take more than one hour from Busia to Malaba because of the bad state of the road especially the section that is not tarmacked," he said.
"The rate at which my motorbikes are wearing out is alarming. Most of the revenue I make from the business goes to repairs and maintenance."
The road gets muddy during the rainy period and really dusty during the dry season.
But two years since its launch, traders continue counting loses. This prompted demonstrations on November 2, as they expressed dissatisfaction with delayed construction works especially between Amairo and Malaba town.
“The contractor does some work then varnishes for 2-3 months before resurfacing. This kind of approach has made work to stagnate and yet we were promised that within a period of one year everything will be in place for official inauguration of the road. We are eager to see a completely tarmacked road,” Emukule said.
Ruto’s tour
On July 16, when Ruto toured Teso South constituency, where he broke ground for the construction of Machakus Girls Secondary School classes, the DP directed the contractor to complete tarmacking works within five months.
“By December the residents of the county will take a few minutes from Malaba to Busia compared to the current situation when residents take many hours to reach Busia town,” Ruto said.
Protesting traders last week, however, questioned how tarmacking of the most broken-down section of the road will be executed with less than 30 days to the deadline Ruto had given.
They decried what they termed shoddy work done by the contractor and the length of time taken to finish the construction, noting that many accidents had occurred at the dilapidated part of the rough road.
Completing the remaining part, approximately 10 kilometers, will involve building a bridge across River Malakisi which recurrently floods whenever heavy rains are experienced.
Finishing such a bridge would require at least five months, an engineer at the Roads department at the county government of Busia said.
Residents who spoke to the Star said they had expected the road to be completed by end of this year.
“As a young social entrepreneur in Busia county, I depend on the road for various reasons,” Bridget Akisa, who is engaged in agribusiness, said.
When its tarmacking was unveiled, Uhuru and Ruto said Kenya would have no meaningful development without a good road network and that the Jubilee administration will endeavor to ensure the roads sector receives a mega boost since it directly influences the country’s rate of development.