Sent by Leo Odera Omolo

EXPANSION OF SUNIKA / KAKRAO / STELLA ROAD

The beneficiaries of the aforesaid road, i.e South Mugrango Consituency, Sunika, Rongo, Uriri, Transmara, Migori, Kuria, Nyatike, Ndhiwa Districts have highlighted the deep appreciation to the Government of Kenya for having taken major steps towards expansion of the same.

This highway was constructed in 1969/70 to boost trade along the shore of Lake Victoria within East African countries and beyond. By then the population of Kenya was averagely 17.5 million, Uganda 13 million and Tanzania 21 million only. It was considered modest to facilitate trade with this kind of population considering different market segments strategically placed along the shore of the Lake and beyond.

Currently the population in East Africa has increased threefold resulting to heavy traffic on this highway.

Most businessmen/ women operating between Tanzania and Kenya, Migori / Kisii /, Migori / Homabay, Migori / Kisumu /, Migori / Nairobi are using their own private means.

Matatus operating between the aforesaid towns are using the same road. Sony Sugar Company’s heavy earth moving machines and Tractors transporting cane for milling are depending on the same road.

Heavy Tracks / Trailers on transit to Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi,Uganda and Eastern Zaire (DRC) are also using the same highway as a result, the road complains of over stretched usage which results to frequent accidents.

This has made sections of this highway to be termed as black spot because of high frequency of accidents virtually every week, such as river Kuja Bridge, Corner Komolo Rume, Lwala School, and corner Koigo on your way to Migori town.

The residents have noticed that expansion is only done with murram whilst carpeting is only on old tarmac road. They have highly chided the process because of lack of proper research on the weather pattern within this environment. This area is prone to heavy rains, modest in summer and highly excessive in winter seasons. So it is highly unlikely that this murram expansion will last longer before washed down streams by heavy erosion from up hills.

It is for this reason that residents are expressing their concern, that as much as they would appreciate the government effort to expand the same using murram, it would make more economic sense if they would have expanded the tarmac road instead of murram material next to the tarmac road, as this will soon be washed away due to heavy traffic flow.

The government should review and vary the contract price to account for appropriate expansion of tarmac road. The additional
contract price might be significant at present but will result to reasonable savings to the treasury department in the long term, the rate of wear and tear of the highway will reduce.

Right now, hardly six Months period has elapsed since the project began and already sections of the highway which were done early this year have so far been washed away by erosion such us Kakrao/Stella Oyani Bridge in Uriri Constituency.

In view of the above we are appealing to the Government to review their tender award and increase the contract price to accommodate appropriate material for tarmac expansion.

By Bob Awiti Otange
– Uriri Constituency