Kenya’s legislators have kicked a fresh storm, calling for the audit of the iconic Nairobi Expressway that cost Sh87 billion. Kimani Ichung’wah the leader of Majority Party in the National Assembly said MPs need answers on the project so as to understand how it was put up.
The Expressway was constructed under the regime of immediate former President Uhuru Kenyatta. The current President William Ruto was Deputy.
Ichung’wah said relevant committees will summon the operator Moja Expressway to explain more, including income from toll charges. The legislators also want to establish if the taxes are paid to the Kenyan government.
“We were told that there would be no public funds used in this project but details coming out of the level of public investment are astonishing to Kenyans.”For the hustler fund, you can track everything; but for the expressway contract, they cannot even allow us to track how many vehicles are using the highway. It leaves a lot to be desired,” he stated.
Additionally, the legislators called on the committees to scrutinise the tax exemption that was extended to the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) by the previous administration.
In regard to rehabilitation of Mombasa road, Ichung’wah noted that the initial plan was to have the contractor rehabilitate the road.However, he revealed that the clause was removed from the contract at the last minute.
“A week after the elections, someone was pushing the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to award a Ksh9 billion tender to the contractor without following proper channels. The 27-kilometre road that links the main JKIA airport to the city centre in Westlands was open to the public on May 14, 2022 when it was launched by former president Kenyatta.