County governors are pressing the Senate to sharply increase their share of the fuel levy, seeking 42% of the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) compared with the 5% currently proposed.
- •The move comes amid growing reliance on the levy by the National government to finance debt-backed infrastructure projects and ahead of a July 2026 court deadline requiring Parliament to align the law with the 2010 Constitution.
- •Counties oversee more than three-quarters of the nation’s road network, yet under the draft Kenya Roads (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill, 2025, they would receive roughly KSh6 billion of the KSh119.7 billion collected in 2024/25.
- •Governors argue that such a low allocation is inconsistent with constitutional principles and the realities of road management on the ground.
“Counties have already been maintaining the majority of Kenya’s roads despite limited funding. The people who pay the levy on every litre of fuel expect their roads to be fixed by the government closest to them,” said Kimani Wamatangi, Kiambu Governor.
According to the Kenya Roads Register 2024, counties manage 182,092 kilometres of roads; 76.15% of the total road network.
Under the governors’ proposal, allocations would shift as follows: 22% currently earmarked for constituency roads would go directly to counties; 10% assigned to roads linking constituencies would also move to county coffers; 40% for national trunk roads would remain with the national government; urban roads would be split 5% for national urban trunks and 10% for county urban streets; 1% for national parks roads would be co-managed; and 2% for administration would stay unchanged.
Beyond funding, counties are pushing structural reforms to the road governance framework. They are seeking direct representation on the Kenya Roads Board and want outdated entities such as KURA and KeRRA phased out after road reclassification.
In late 2025, the government pledged KSh12 per litre of the levy to investors, up from KSh7 per litre, to settle contractor arrears across the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), and Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA). The strategy has freed billions in upfront cash but left counties dependent on marginal allocations for maintenance of local roads
The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Roads, Transport, and Housing Committee before debate in the full chamber.
