County News
Mandera-Wajir-Garissa road remains impassable as govt upgrades 15 roads in Central Kenya
GARISSA—The road network linking Wajir, Mandera and Garissa counties remain impassible for the fifth day Friday after it was cut off by rain water.
Passengers travelling to and fro Wajir and Garissa are braving the biting weather during the day and wild animals at night to reach their destinations. The bus companies plying the route advise passengers to stock up packed food and drinks as the situation could get worse due to the bad state of the roads.
The deplorable road that Garissa and Wajir. PHOTO/ Courtesy
By July of 2013, out of the more than 16,000km of road network in North Eastern region, only 20km were paved, according to records at the Kenya National Highways Authority.
Even as the major road linking the three counties remains in deplorable condition half-a century after independence, President Uhuru Kenyatta has commisoned the upgrading or the construction of at least 15 roads in Central Kenya since 15th of March, 2016.
“Once the design is done (of the the roads), we will go and look for money from various partners. We are likely to go back to the African Development Bank. We plan to extend the dual carriageway from Kenol,” transport minister Dr Macharia said when he launched the projects.
Since Jubilee came into power four years ago, the campaign pledge to tramac the longest untarmaced road in Kenya remains just that—a pledge.
Siyat Abdirahman, 23, is a college student at Nairobi. He said he was looking foward to seeing his family before the two week break ends. He paid a ticket of sh 3500 to reach Mandera by bus and has already used sh 1800 more since his journey started three days ago.
“It seems I wont be able to beat that deadline,” he said, adding that it was embarrasing for the government to continue upgrading roads and highways in other parts of the country while the road linking Garissa-Mandera remained in “ruins”.
Looking on is Istar Abdisamad, 25, a medical student at KMTC, Nyeri campus. She said was travelling to El- Wak to seek school fees. “It would not be possible to return by next week because of the state of this road,” she said.
She continued, ” I feel I am not part of “Kenya” when I cross the bridge in Tana River (Garissa).”
The Mandera-Wajir-Garissa road is classified as a national road managed by Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA), thus excluding the counties from the construction and maintaince of such roads.
The class B9 road connects the country to the neighbouring counties of Somalia and Ethopia which ultimetely links up to Eritrea and Djibouti. The road network is so significant that it has been accorded a regional status because the 765km road is the gateway to the rich pastoralist hinterland which, as per government records, produces over 65 per cent of livestock products in the country.
The construction of the road could cost at least 8.2 billion, according to Kerra official quoted by the Star newspaper.
The poor road infrastructure in the region has remained major impediments to the marketing of agricultural livestock products.Most sections of the Garissa-Mandera road are characterised by potholes, gullies and detours which has been the case for decades.
