Kenyan Governors demand for fair share of roads levy fund

Kiambu Governor and COG Transport Committee Chair Kimani Wamatangi was blunt in his assessment. “When counties are responsible for over three-quarters of the road network, allocating only five percent of the levy cannot be justified,” he told the committee chaired by Migori Senator Eddy Oketch.

Official figures from the Kenya Roads Register 2024 paint a clear picture: counties oversee 182,092 kilometres of roads, accounting for 76.15 percent of the total 239,122-kilometre network. These local routes are crucial for connecting communities, supporting agriculture, and driving economic activity across the country.

The timing of this appeal is significant. It follows a High Court judgment in June 2025 that ruled the exclusion of counties from direct RMLF allocations as unconstitutional. The Court of Appeal has since directed Parliament to amend the relevant legislation by July 2026 to ensure continued and proper funding for road maintenance.

Wamatangi pointed out that much of the current legal framework predates Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, which clearly assigns county governments responsibility for their roads while the national government handles major trunk routes. The Kenya Roads Act of 2007 established national agencies that have historically dominated fund distribution.

Currently under review is the Kenya Roads (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill, 2025, which proposes sticking with the five percent share for counties. With last year’s levy collections reaching Sh119.7 billion, that would translate to around Sh6 billion for all 47 counties combined – an amount the governors say is insufficient.

The COG’s alternative proposal involves a major redistribution. Counties would gain 42 percent by taking shares from the Constituency Roads Fund and other allocations. National trunk roads would retain 40 percent, with specific percentages for urban roads, national parks (co-managed), and administration remaining stable.

Importantly, Wamatangi stressed that the RMLF is a dedicated ‘user-pay’ mechanism funded by levies on motorists and fuel. It cannot be replaced by the general equitable share that counties receive for multiple services like healthcare and agriculture.

This debate underscores deeper questions about how Kenya balances national and county priorities in infrastructure development. As one of Africa’s most ambitious devolution experiments, the outcome could set a precedent for effective local governance and improved road quality benefiting millions of citizens.