- Nyoro said the funds are part of Sh57 billion that has been set aside to complete ongoing roads in the country.
- The project follows the routes used by Mau Mau fighters as they go in and out of the forest to fight colonialists.
Image: Alice Waithera
The national government has allocated Sh4 billion for the completion of the Sh30 billion Mau Mau roads project.
The project was started in 2019 by the Jubilee government with the aim of commemorating Mau Mau fighters and improving the road network in areas near the Aberdare forest.
The project follows the routes used by Mau Mau fighters as they went in and out of the forest to fight colonialists.
The 540 kilometres long project covers Kiambu, Nyandarua, Murang’a and Nyeri counties and stalled in 2022, leaving residents in anguish as the contractors left the site.
Parts of the roads that had been graded were eventually degraded by the weather, making them impassable.
But the chairperson of the budget committee in the national assembly Ndindi Nyoro on Monday confirmed that the funds had been incorporated in the new budget to ensure the project is completed.
Once complete, the roads that pass through areas that previously had poor road connectivity will boost local economies and enhance business activities including tourism.
“The Mau Mau roads have been critical in terms of infrastructure in the Central region and completing them is vital,” he added.
Nyoro said the funds are part of Sh57 billion that has been set aside to complete ongoing roads in the country.
The MP also announced that Sh3.5 billion has been set aside to increase police officers' salaries and boost their standards of living.
A task force headed by former Chief Justice David Maraga released a report in November last year that indicated that the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and The National Youth Service have been bedevilled by many challenges including underfunding and corruption.
Others included poor handling of human capital management and development, and leadership.
The task force called for the examination and review of their welfare, terms and conditions of service, capabilities and service delivery, and identification of key levers for comprehensive change in the three services.
Nyoro said police officers have been living in below average standards because their salaries have not been revised for long yet they don't have unions to agitate for better terms.
“The Maraga taskforce went around the country and confirmed what we all know, that our police officers deserve better,” he said.
Nyoro who spoke while launching the tarmacking of 7 kilometre long Karichiungu Gitui road in his constituency in his constituency on Monday said the new Appropriations bill is set to be passed in the national assembly this week.
Nyoro further noted that Sh18 billion has been included to employ Junior Secondary School teachers on permanent and pensionable terms.
The 46,000 interns have been protesting since last year, claiming that they had already worked on a contract basis for one year.
About Sh7.5 billion has been set aside for subsidized fertilisers to all farmers, Sh1 billion for the sugar reforms and Sh3 billion will be added to the Coffee Cherry Fund.
“In the dairy sector, we have allocated Sh1.5 billion for New KCC to help stabilize milk prices because want farmers to be at least Sh50 per litre to make the venture profitable.”