The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has identified inadequate funding as one of the major challenges slowing efforts to expand and improve key roads across the country, as road accidents continue to claim lives.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

KeNHA Director General Luka Kimeli said on Monday, October 5, that the expansion of more than 2,500 kilometres of roads could significantly reduce the number of accidents, particularly along highways that have been identified as high-risk sections.

Among the roads targeted for expansion is the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway, which is currently under construction, as well as the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway, where a series of fatal crashes have been reported in recent days.

Kimeli said the planned dualling of the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway could help address some of the safety challenges experienced along the busy road, even as key agencies entrusted with road safety appear to be trading blame over the surge in road accidents.

📌 What You Need to Know

“We have lost a lot of lives on that road, and we hope that when the issue of dualling is addressed, we shall not have the kind of problems we are currently having,” Kimeli told Citizen TV .

He, however, noted that KeNHA faces competition from other government sectors when seeking funds for road projects, limiting the pace at which some planned improvements can be undertaken.

“The biggest challenge we have is the competition we are subjected to when seeking funding with other sectors of the economy,” the KeNHA DG said.

KeNHA Director of Development Henry Gakuru also pointed to terrain and some design challenges as factors that could contribute to accidents in certain sections, saying the agency was working to address such risks.

The authority said it was also considering speed-calming measures and other interventions at identified blackspots while appealing to motorists to exercise caution and observe traffic rules.

The position differs from that of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), which said road safety cannot be attributed to one factor, with the agency pointing to the condition of vehicles, roads, road users and post-crash response.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke