The government is planning to use part of the controversial Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) as security to secure funding for road projects through a bond, a Senate committee has revealed.

The Senate’s Roads, Transportation, and Housing Committee, chaired by Migori lawmaker Eddy Oketch, has given the State Department of Roads a 14-day ultimatum to give full disclosures on the move which seeks to raise Sh175billion.

This is after the department proposed to utilise a portion of the RLMF proceeds as security to unlock additional financing through issuance of a bond.

During a meeting with ministry officials led by Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davies Chirchir on the Budget Policy Statement (BPS), the Senate committee heard that the State was using part of the levy as security for additional financing.

Senator Oketch further charges that the government is collecting Sh7 more per litre of petroleum products, thus pushing the levy from the current Sh18 to Sh25 per litre.

According to Oketch, the addition Sh7 per litre being collected should also be divided between the National government and the devolved units.

In addition, the senators are demanding a share of the Sh175billion generated from the increase of the road maintenance levy funds last year to go to counties. Last year, the government increased the RMLF by Sh7 per litre, from Sh18 to 25 per litre of petrol and diesel.

The Committee directed the State Department of Roads to provide within 14 days upon approval of the BPS by the senate a reconcilable list of all the pending bills totalling Sh175billion.

The department is also required to submit legal opinions, agreements between the borrower and the lender, the amount borrowed so far and borrowing costs and its use and application.

Parliamentary stalemate

In addition, the department will also provide the corresponding specific projects, contractors and reasons for the areas.

Currently, the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill, 2025, has stalled in the National Assembly as MPs insist they will not approve any allocation unless governors withdraw a court case challenging the RMLF’s management.

The development comes even as the senators proposed an allocation of Sh13.9billion to the counties from the funds in the next financial year.

The constitution assigns the national government responsibility for National Trunk Roads, while county governments manage County Roads.

County governments are responsible for county transport, including county roads, street lighting, traffic and parking, public road transport, and ferries and harbours- excluding the regulation of international and national shipping matters.

The governors are seeking to control some Sh10.5 billion proceeds allocated to the counties in the current fiscal year to maintain county roads, but the MPs want the funds to be channelled through the constituencies.

“The sharing of expected proceeds of the RMLF for the financial year 2025-26 takes into account transfer for counties towards maintenance and rehabilitation of county roads,” Oketch said in a report.

The move comes at the time MPs and governors are locked up in a vicious court case over the control of the RMLF billions. Last week on the floor of the House, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, vowed that counties would not get the RMLF money.

“The ongoing grandstanding by counties regarding the distribution of RMLF has regrettably derailed the County Governments’ Additional Allocation Bill, jeopardising essential public services,” said Ichung’wah.

The governors have poked holes in the National Government budget estimates, saying that they said crouch into the mandate of the devolved units.

According to the governors, the central government has no business in allocating Sh1.01billion for the construction and maintenance of rural roads including construction of access roads to Affordable Housing facilities and access to Industrial Park facilities.

Council of Governors (CoG) chairperson Governor Ahmed Abdullahi (Wajir) said that counties used to get funds for the maintenance of the county roads.

According to Abdullahi, Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) created before the onset of devolution should have been aligned to the new constitutional dispensation.