It won't be easy for me, Murkomen says on CS job

Roads CS Kipchumba Murkomen says a herculean task awaits him in the execution of his mandate.

Murkomen said he is alive to the fact that it will not be easy to fulfil election pledges made by the Kenya Kwanza leaders that fall under his docket.

“I have already seen that it is not easy. We are inheriting Sh140 pending bills that must be first be paid before all the pending roads are constructed,” the CS said during an interview with Citizen TV on Wednesday night.

Murkomen said Kenyans are waiting for the pledges to be fulfilled and are hoping President William Ruto will avail the resources immediately.

He said the government, after paying the pending bills, still has a commitment of Sh700 billion to complete road projects, where contracts have been signed.

“Meanwhile, we are dealing with a situation of huge debt. When we talk about pending bills, we are not even discussing how after paying the money, we will proceed with other projects,” Murkomen said.

In his manifesto, Ruto said roads are arguably the country’s most important infrastructure.

Murkomen, who served as the Senate Majority leader in the Jubilee administration before his ouster in a purge targeting allies of Ruto, has his work cut out.

The President said one-third of the country’s 63,575 kilometres of classified roads are in need of rehabilitation or reconstruction.

“It is readily apparent that the financial constraints we face require very prudent use of resources,” Ruto said during the launch of the Kenya Kwanza manifesto on June 30.

Ruto further promised to prioritise upgrading and maintenance of rural access roads.

Also, the improvement of road infrastructure in urban informal settlements and critical national and regional trunk roads that have the highest immediate economic impact.

According to the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, 59 roads are under construction.

The Kenya National Highways Authority has nine major roads that are incomplete, according to data on its website.