Governors have called for 42 per cent of the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), arguing that counties, which manage most of the nation’s roads, should receive a larger share to strengthen devolution.
Appearing before the Senate Roads, Transport and Housing Committee on Tuesday, the Council of Governors (COG) said the current allocation of five per cent is insufficient for effective county road maintenance and does not align with constitutional responsibilities.
“When counties are responsible for over three-quarters of the road network, allocating only five per cent of the levy cannot be justified,” Kiambu County Chief and COG Transport, Infrastructure and Energy Committee Chair Kimani Wamatangi told the committee, chaired by Migori Senator Eddy Oketch.
According to the Kenya Roads Register 2024, counties manage 182,092 kilometres—76.15 per cent of Kenya’s total 239,122-kilometre road network.
The debate follows a High Court ruling in June 2025 that declared excluding counties from direct allocation of the levy fund unconstitutional.
The Court of Appeal gave Parliament until July 2026 to amend the law to prevent disruption in road maintenance funding.
Wamatangi said the current legal framework predates the 2010 Constitution. “The law must now reflect the Constitution,” he said, noting that the Kenya Roads Act of 2007 created three national road agencies: Kenya National Highways Authority, Kenya Urban Roads Authority, and Kenya Rural Roads Authority.
Under the Constitution, national trunk roads are managed by the national government, while county roads are exclusively under county management.
The Kenya Roads (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill, 2025, sponsored in the Senate by Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, proposes classifying roads as National Trunk Roads or County Roads and allocating five per cent of the levy fund to counties. In the 2024/25 financial year, total levy collections amounted to Sh119.7 billion, meaning counties would receive about Sh6 billion under the current framework.
COG is pushing for a redistribution, giving counties 42 per cent of the fund. Their proposal would shift 22 per cent previously allocated to the Constituency Roads Fund and 10 per cent for roads linking constituencies directly to counties.
National trunk roads would retain 40 per cent, urban roads would be split with 10 per cent going to counties, one per cent for roads in national parks would be co-managed with host counties, and two per cent for administration would remain unchanged.
“The levy is a dedicated user-pay fund collected from motorists and cannot be replaced by general equitable share allocations,” Wamatangi said.
“Equitable share is general-purpose money meant for health, water, agriculture and other services. The Roads Maintenance Levy Fund is specifically for road maintenance.”
