Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir Faces Committee Pressure to Accelerate Stalled Road Projects

The Transport and Infrastructure Committee of the National Assembly has urged Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir to speed up road works that have been delayed, saying the holdups are hampering travel and inconveniencing drivers.

The committee, chaired by Ndia MP George Kariuki, met with the cabinet secretary on Friday, October 30, 2026, and expressed approval for the government’s road-maintenance securitisation scheme as a new source of funding.

Members highlighted several projects that are behind schedule, beginning with the Mombasa-Mtwapa road whose slow progress has created serious traffic snarls on the main corridor between Mombasa and Malindi, especially near Mtwapa Bridge.

Jomvu MP Badi Twalib pointed to an abandoned two-kilometre section on the Miritini-Madafuni-Jomvu road, while John Kiragu raised concerns about drainage on the Rironi-Mau Summit road. Vice-Chairperson Didmus Barasa added that road works in the Western region are also suffering from delays.

The committee called on the cabinet secretary to ensure that contractors complete the works promptly and that the public receives value for the money spent.

In reply, Chirchir said the government has introduced securitisation to tackle chronic funding gaps in road maintenance and development, stating, “The road sub-sector has historically faced funding challenges to meet the road maintenance and development requirements of the country.”

He explained that the Cabinet approved a levy of KSh7 per litre of fuel, later reduced to KSh5 per litre, as an alternative financing tool because of limited Exchequer resources.

Chirchir noted that the roads sector received KSh85 billion in the last financial year but is confronting a KSh24.9 billion budget reduction that is expected to be offset through a supplementary budget, adding, “Honourable Members, roads are a social investment meant to open up our markets. We are doing our best with the little that we get.”

The secretary said contractors have been paid upon the issuance of certificates and pledged to monitor the delayed projects closely.

The committee and the cabinet secretary plan to inspect additional sites, including the Rironi-Mau Summit road, which is slated to ease congestion during the festive period, and Chirchir assured that the Rironi-Naivasha stretch will be opened to traffic by December.

The transport committee’s concerns follow a recent warning from the National Assembly Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works, which on October 23, 2026, criticised contractors for abandoning an affordable-housing project and an Economic Stimulus Programme market site in Siaya County. Vice-Chairperson Mugambi Rindikiri said, “We are answerable to the people of Kenya. We are responsible to the people of Kenya, not any individual. This is Kenyan people’s money which you have taken. You are enjoying it. This is the sweat of taxpayers’ money,” and cautioned that non-compliant contractors could face administrative and legal action.