County provides a solution to road works
By The Mountain Journal Crew
Laikipia County Government has managed to do tens of kilometers of road through utilization of leasing equipment, which has reduced the cost of operation.
In the past two years, the administration under Governor Ndiritu Muriithi has graded 776.04 kilometres of road in the majority of the wards.
Another 392.99 kilometres have been graveled as the county government incurred a cost of Sh62, 696,499 between July 1, 2019, and February 28, 2021.
A report by the Leasing Project Manager Peter Ngunjiri Mugo stated that an average of Sh177,615 was spent per kilometre in the rehabilitation exercise including the administration costs.
Contractors are paid Sh3.5 million after working on a four kilometres stretch of murram road, a system that Muriithi’s administration changed.
The equipment is divided into three units that have been utilized Umande, Nanyuki, Mukogondo East, Tigithi, Ngobit, Segera, Rumuruti, Marmanet, and Igwamiti wards.
The County Secretary Mr Karanja Njora said the works have been affected by long rains in some wards causing a delay in the completion.
The government, he said, found it wise to lease the equipment to ensure they are put into the optimum use, to ensure there is value for money.
” In a short time the impassable roads are done, targeting the security access routes in the bandit-prone Laikipia West areas,” said Njora adding that the quality assurance officers on the grounds to certify the work.
A contractor Peter Karondo condemns the programme saying they have been denied the opportunity to participate in the development of the county.
“Many of the contractors bought the equipment eying to earn a living through construction but now we are left paying loans to the commercial banks,” says Karondo.
Laikipia County Assembly Infrastructure Committee Chairman Mr Robert Maina lauds the programme saying it is less expensive, adding that his Ngobit is among those that rural access roads were in chaos in the past.
Maina, Ngobit MCA said the project is less expensive compared to the contracting model where the county government officials are fully in charge of the projects.
“An allocation of four million through contract can only do four-kilometer murram roads, while the leasing equipment model can go to 10 kilometres depending on the sections,” said Maina.
The assembly, he added, was interested to visit the areas where the roads have been done through the leasing programme for a fact-finding mission.
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