Kipchumba Murkomen og image
Transport Cabinet Secretary Nominee, Kipchumba Murkomen has revealed his plan to curb traffic snarl-ups in the country if approved by the National Assembly Vetting Committee.
While speaking on Wednesday, October 19, Murkomen stated that he would make use of a traffic management system to reduce traffic jams on busy highways such as Thika Road and Mombasa road.
The Transport CS nominee also issued a warning to rogue contractors handling stalled projects across the nation, stating that he will digitize systems to track progress and weed out underperforming contractors.
Murkomen promised to eliminate the issue of outstanding bills owed to contractors by using the road maintenance levy to guarantee a one-time infrastructure bond.
The Senator stated he would travel the country to gain first-hand knowledge and experience regarding infrastructure needs and development.
He also stated that he would make use of tolling to help in raising revenue to build roads in other parts of the country.
“Tolling will help in raising enough revenue to maintain the big infrastructures that we are going to develop. We can save the other money from road maintenance levy and other sources of revenue to construct roads in other parts of the country,” he said.
“Tolling on road is not an extra charge, it’s a saving. If you look at the Expressway alone, you will realize that the cost of staying at Mombasa Road for three hours comes to a certain figure but that is a saving when reduced to 20 minutes.” He added.
Murkomen backed his stance with the example of the Nairobi-Rongai road, arguing that converting it to a dual carriage toll road would save motorists money on fuel and other expenses.
“Calculate the time that we are saving for you, the resources you are going to spend on fuel, let us dual the roads, let’s toll it and instead of paying Ksh.500 which you are wasting on fuel we charge you about Ksh.200 and you keep Ksh.300,” he said.
Related: Kipchumba Murkomen Reveals How Raila Introduced Him to Politics
