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The government will spend a total of Sh1.575 billion on the maintenance of roads in the Nyanza region.

 In a statement released yesterday, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) explained that it had already awarded a total of 14 tenders for road maintenance works in the region which covers the six counties of Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii and Nyamira.

The authority said that contrary to claims by a section of Nyanza leaders that the region had been left out of the projects, road maintenance contracts are always staggered depending on the contractual period of the running contracts.

 KeNHA Deputy Director Samuel Kumba said the 14 tenders include two periodic Maintenance Contracts, three Performance-based Maintenance Contracts, eight Routine Maintenance Contracts and one Emergency Contract.

 The statement follows concerns from the leaders that the region was committed after KeNHA on August 15 advertised tenders for various road works for the first and second quarters of the 2023/24 Financial Year.

 “In MyGov “published on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) advertised tenders for various road works for the first and second quarters of the Financial Year 2023/24. The advertisement has raised concerns that projects in the Nyanza Region have been omitted, owing to the fact that roads from the region were not in this particular advertisement,” said Kumba.

 The move comes just days after MPs last week threatened to impeach Transport and Roads Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen over proposed changes by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) to reduce funds allocated to constituencies.