Kajiado locals decry poor state of Imaroro-Isara road
A vehicle navigates through a potholed section of the Imaroro-Mashuru road on September 12, 2024.
The tarmacking of the Kajiado-Imaroro-Mashuru-Isara road four years ago brought hope to residents in four sub-counties.
But their hopes are waning fast because the road christened “Magic Road” is wearing out fast.
The construction of the 230-kilometre road stretching from Kajiado South-East-Central-West began in earnest under former president Uhuru Kenyatta in July 2017 after intense political lobbying. It was split into three stretches, each with its contractor to speed up the construction work.
The first stretch of 70km from Imaroro-Mashuru to Isara, connecting the Emali-Loitokitok road was placed under the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) low-volume seal paved roads category. The second stretch of 91km from Imaroro-Kajiado then from Isinya to Ngong via Kiserian in Kajiado North sub-county was under the Annuity Model (Public -Private Partnership). The 70km Ngong-Suswa stretch was in the same category.
Following the completion of the road, shopping centres sprouted and wildlife sanctuaries were established, which boosted local tourism.
But a spot check by Nation on the Imaroro-Mashuru-Isara road found it had potholes.
"It costs us a lot to repair our vehicles. It’s risky to drive at night,” said a driver who plies the route from Loitoktok.
Mr John Moloma from Mashuru said overloaded sand trucks are the source of their tribulations. The Nation obtained a confidential letter from the contractor to KeRRA.
On October 13, 2023, a Chinese company Stecol Corporation wrote to the road agency demanding Sh536,630,852.89 after the completion of the contract that expired on May 24, 2023.
“Please note we have never been paid a single shilling for over three years of the operation and maintenance of the PBRM contract,” Stecol Corporation representative Wang Yongjun wrote to KeRRA.
Kajiado resident Engineer Washington Mugambi said the road has been re-classified from C to B category but has not been handed over to Kenya National Highway Authority due to debts.
"The tarmac layer was thin. Since the completion of the road, overloaded sand trucks ply the route daily. All our hopes for an economic windfall have been dashed,” said Mr Moloma.
Locals claim accidents on the road have shot up in the last two years.
The Nation has since obtained a confidential letter from the contractor to KeRRA indicating the contractor abandoned the road maintenance over debts.
On October 13, 2023, a Chinese company Stecol Corporation wrote to the road agency demanding Sh536,630,852.89 after the contract expired on May 24, 2023.
“Please note we have never been paid a single shilling during the over three years of the operation and maintenance of the PBRM contract. This has been an event of default of employer in pursuance of Sub-clause 69.1 of contract," read part of the letter written by Stecol Corporation authorised representative Wang Yongjun and officially received by KeRRA on October 13,2023.
The contractor further indicated he could not undertake the road repair and final seal due to financial constraints.
"We ask the employer to indemnify the contractor of any risks which may occur on the road e.g. accidents as the result of the state of the road, “Read further the letter taking cognisant of dozens of overloaded sand trucks plying the route against the 10 Tones weight restrictions.
Initially, the capacity of the road was 10 tons but river sand trucks are accused of ferrying axle loads beyond 20 tons and sometimes evading the mobile weighbridge. A feared cartel of brokers are said to shield the overloaded trucks.
By the time of going to press Stecol Corporation had neither returned calls nor replied to text messages asking for a comment.
Kajiado County Resident Engineer Washington Mugambi told Nation the road has since been re-classified from C to B category and was supposed to be handed over to Kenya National Highway Authority (KenHA) but the issue of pending debts has slowed the process.
"KenHA ought to have taken over the road by now. It's KeRRA to pay the contractor as it had awarded the contract. The contractor has not paid so far but will be paid when the money is available," Engineer Mugambi told Nation.
The second and third stretch of road from Imaroro-Kajiado and Isinya-Kiserian-Ngong respectively under PPP roads model is relatively well maintained. Patches of newly re-tarmacked sections are visible. The 70km Ngong-Suswa road that construction began in 2018 stalled in its last leg to completion.
