The Energy Petroleum and Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has increased the road levy from 18 shillings to 25 shillings despite earlier opposition from Kenyans who said that the increase in the levy will add more burden to Kenyans.
The increase comes a few days after the axed Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen assured Kenyans that the road levy will not in any way impact the fuel price and that Kenyans will not feel the cost of living.
“From the views we have received, many Kenyans are worried that an increase in the levy will result in a rise in the cost of living and fuel prices,” Murkomen said.
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He said that should EPRA not impose the levy, most roads constructed in the last decade would go into ruins. Murkomen revealed that there has been a considerable increase in the country’s road network from 166,451 kilometers in 2016 to the current 239,122 kilometers which requires regular maintenance.
Most of these abandoned roads, he said, are under the Low Volume Seal program which have never been maintained in the last 10 years and are on the verge of being wiped away altogether. “The Roads Maintenance Levy Review is, therefore, intended to fill this gap,” he said.