A heated dispute between Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Council of Governors (COG) over the Sh10.5 billion Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) has escalated, but MPs are now urging for a peaceful resolution outside of the courtroom. This impasse, which has delayed the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill, 2024, is centered on funds that were meant to be allocated to counties for road maintenance.
The High Court intervened in the matter, issuing conservatory orders that froze the RMLF funds, a decision that has stalled the legislative process. The National Assembly Majority Leader, Kimani Ichung’wah, speaking during the opening of the midterm retreat for MPs in Naivasha, called for an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism to address the issue, and urged the Parliamentary Service Commission to engage the Council of Governors for a more collaborative approach.
The root of the dispute can be traced back to September 28, 2023, when MPs removed counties as beneficiaries of the RMLF, citing Section 6 of the Kenya Roads Board Act, 1999. This move contradicted an earlier agreement made during the 9th National and County Governments Coordinating Summit in February 2023, where it was resolved that counties would receive funds from the RMLF as conditional grants in the 2024/25 financial year.
In response to the decision by the MPs, the COG, along with other stakeholders, filed a petition on August 16, 2024, seeking judicial intervention. The High Court subsequently issued orders freezing the funds until the case is heard in March 2025. The National Assembly, however, opposed the petition, filing an urgent application to lift the orders. A hearing for this application is scheduled for February 2025.
Ichung’wah emphasized that the impasse was hampering the passage of the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill, which includes the RMLF allocation. He suggested that Parliament revert to using the County Allocation of Revenue Bill to resolve the dispute.
The Kenya Roads Board (KRB), which collects up to Sh100 billion annually from fuel levies, is mandated by law to allocate at least 22 percent of these funds for road maintenance across constituencies, with 10 percent designated for the Kenya Rural Roads Authority to maintain link roads. However, the ongoing legal battle has placed these allocations in jeopardy, further complicating the financial and infrastructural planning for counties.
As the matter awaits further legal proceedings, MPs are hopeful that a non-litigious approach will be found to end the stalemate and ensure that counties receive their fair share of funding for road maintenance.
