Residents of Buuri region in Meru County have a reason to smile following the tarmacking of a 34-kilometre road which has linked up some of the major towns in the region including Kisima, Kibirichia, and Ruiri.
Initially, the road was very dusty and muddy during the dry and rainy seasons respectively and one would take almost two hours to move from Ruiri to Kirua, a distance that at the moment takes one 10-15 minutes to cover.
Speaking while inspecting the project Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) Regional Director Engineer Hillary Akwiri said that since 2015, the national government through the authority has invested in 19 major projects which are improvement of roads to bitumen standards within the county at a total cost of Sh15.5 billion.
He said some of these projects are complete and others are still ongoing and at various stages of completion. “Kisima-Kibirichia-Ruiri road is around 34.6 kilometres but there are other additional road loops that were created along the way totaling to around 43 kilometers,” said Akwiri.
He added: “Of importance is the government’s commitments to providing links to various institutions and on this road, we have taken care of that.”
He said some of the loops along the road were meant to link institutions such as Kibirichia Boys’ High School and Kibirichia Girls’ High School, as well as provide access to Kibirichia hospital to enable residents to access medication easily.
During a recent visit to the County, Government Spokesperson Colonel (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna said the government was committed to opening up the entire country so that farmers and business people can easily access markets and other facilities.
He said the Ruiri-Kisima road will for instance make it easy for residents to access markets in other sub-counties or counties which would in the long run speed up national development.
“Since the Jubilee government took over in 2013, more than 12,000 kilometers of roads have been tarmacked to add to the existing 6,000 kilometers that had been tarmacked since independence,” Oguna said.
He said this was a clear indication of the commitment by the government to open up the country and put it at a level where it can be attractive to investors both from within and outside the country.
Initially, he added, there were areas referred to as Kenya A and Kenya B in the sense that Kenya B had no road infrastructure but right now Kenya has been integrated as one nation due to this commitment which also includes water and electricity connectivity. This, Oguna added has made every Kenyan feel they are part and parcel of this country.
By Dickson Mwiti
