The government has raised Ksh 139 billion from securitization of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund.
Road and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the funds will be used to clear certified outstanding bills owed to road contractors and accelerate ongoing road projects across the country.
Payments will cover eligible works from the last quarter of the previous fiscal year and will commence on 21st of this month, and be completed by 28th.
Chirchir said the financing programme was necessary because conventional Exchequer allocations remain insufficient to meet the cost of ongoing road works and accumulated obligations.
“We are not simply clearing yesterday’s pending bills. Our objective is to stop creating tomorrow’s pending bills,” he said.
Under Phase I, the government leveraged Ksh 7 per litre of the RMLF to mobilise a total of Ksh 175 billion, enabling the settlement of all pending bills certified works and eligible interest obligations up to March 2026.
He confirmed that the government had received the first tranche of the current programme and expects the next tranche shortly, paving the way for payments to contractors from this week.
He assured contractors that payments under the new programme would be processed through an established framework based on properly measured, verified and certified claims.
He further urged contractors to remain on site and accelerate implementation, while meeting contractual requirements on time, cost and quality.
“There should be no middlemen and no preferential treatment. If a certificate is properly certified and eligible, it should be processed in accordance with the approved payment framework,” he added.
Chirchir also directed engineers and technical officers to take full responsibility for the quality, cost and scope of road projects.
“Certify only work that you can professionally defend,” he said.
Further directed road agencies to strengthen project preparation before procurement, particularly design development, site investigations and verification of quantities. Chirchir warned that exhausted contract quantities, premature road failure or unjustified certification must be addressed before construction, stressing that such shortcomings would attract professional accountability.
