State to repair roads, bridges destroyed by floods

Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman George Kariuki. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The national government will allocate funds to repair roads and bridges destroyed by floods due to heavy rains pounding the country.

National Assembly Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman George Kariuki said assessment of the destroyed infrastructure is ongoing.

Kariuki indicated that the magnitude of the destruction of infrastructure cannot be quantified now but repairs will commence once the rains subside.

"We have seen in most of the places, roads have been cut off, bridges have collapsed due to the heavy rains the agencies concerned can only do some minor repairs but the main works will be done once the rain stops," he said.

Speaking in Kandongu, Mwea West sub-county, the Ndia MP urged the public to be cautious while using the affected roads.

He said that the committee will follow up and ensure all the damaged roads and bridges are repaired in time to ensure smooth transportation.

Kariuki announced that the government will allocate funds for the construction of 500km roads in the Mwea irrigation scheme to help the farmers transport farm inputs and produce to the markets.

"Rice farmers have been complaining of the poor road network at the Mwea irrigation scheme, despite paying Sh3,000 per acre for maintenance. The roads remain impassable, we will come up with a clear framework to murram those roads," he said.

He said that it would be unfair for the National Irrigation Authority to charge farmers for road maintenance and let them shoulder the high cost of transport due to poor road network.