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The Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has once again fingered the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) over its failure to account for Sh2.7 billion advanced to it.

 Gathungu in a report regretted that KURA did not have a separate account for this money as the funds were banked in the authority’s main bank’s account adding that the said money was not supported with a cashbook, bank reconciliation statement and bank confirmation certificates.

 “In the circumstances the accuracy and completeness of the cash and cash equivalent balance of Sh 2,717, 690, 436 could not be confirmed, reads the report.

 In her latest report tabled in the National Assembly last week by leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wa, Gathungu also regretted that there was no value for money realised over the construction of the newly built footbridge along the Eastern Bypass Road around city cabanas areas as well as the maintenance of the Nairobi Outering road.

 With regards to the footbridge, she said that the institution did not get any value for money due to poor road workmanship done on the bridge.

 She revealed that physical verification conducted by the institution in February last year, shows that metal bars had been vandalised thus exposing pedestrians to the risk of being run over by speeding vehicles while crossing the road at undesignated areas.  It adds, “In the circumstances, value for money from road assets may not be achieved.”

According to her, Kura maintenance Levy Fund needs to erect tall guardrails of heavy gauge and have a multi-agency approach to protect road assets from vandalism. The construction of the footbridge was carried through funding from African Development Bank (ADB) following the expansion of the 28km Eastern Bypass, which was being expanded into a dual carriageway at the cost of Sh12.5 billion.

Frequent accidents

 The queries by Gathungu comes barely four months after motorists plying along bypass in Ruiru, Kiambu County protested over frequent road accidents in the area after over five reported people were killed by speeding motorists at the busy highway.

 In October last year, three people died while two others were hospitalised after sustaining serious injuries after they were involved in a road accident along the busy highway.

 In an accident, a speeding vehicle rammed into a tuk tuk and a 14-seater matatu killing three occupants of the tuk tuk on the spot.

 The bypass dualling project was among 11 major infrastructure initiatives Kenya showcased to international investors during the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, in May 2017.

 The Eastern Bypass was constructed as a single carriageway, but since its completion in 2014, considerable urbanisation and commerce along the corridor occasioned significant traffic volumes.

Unpredictable traffic

 As a result, severe and unpredictable traffic jams rendered the road unusable as a reliable link to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

 With respect to the outering road, she said that physical verification of the project carried out in February last year had revealed that the designated pedestrian foot bridge at the main junction of the outering road and Thika Road lacked barriers and lighting systems.

 Further she lamented that the Tassia road section had open drainages clogged with garbage and overgrown vegetation despite the fact that a firm had been contracted to regularly maintain the drains along the road. “In the circumstances, value for money from road assets may not be achieved,” the report states.