Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has urged the government to consider selling its shares in major private companies to raise funds for completing key infrastructure projects.
In a press statement on Tuesday, August 12, Nyoro argued that the move would enable the government to develop new infrastructure, particularly roads, without imposing additional taxes on Kenyans.
He added that using internal resources would not only cut the cost of road construction but also help the country avoid unnecessary external debt.
“The government should expand the scope of privatisation, get more money from privatised firms, and remove personal interests from these processes so that whatever gains are made go to these noble projects,” Nyoro said.
“We must optimise internal resources to fund key projects instead of misusing workers’ savings at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to do what the government should do and has always done,” he added.
Nyoro, who also strongly opposed the government’s plan to introduce a tolling system on major roads under construction, argued that the approach would spare Kenyans from paying to use the roads, a move he warned could have severe economic repercussions.
For example, Nyoro cited the planned tolling of the upcoming Mau Summit Road, warning that it could push neighbouring countries such as Uganda, which relies on the route to transport goods from Mombasa, to switch to cheaper alternatives such as Tanzania’s transport corridors.
He further urged the government to apply the same approach to expanding other vital routes, including the Nairobi–Mombasa Highway.
“Expand the road without making it a tollable road, because whoever does the importation of commodities headed to Uganda has to compare our Kenyan economy and the ports around, such as Dar es Salaam,” Nyoro said.
“For Uganda to take goods into their economy, they have to use rail or road. If you add the cost of transportation after tolling them, you are motivating them to look for alternatives, and this won’t be good for our economy,” he added.
Nyoro’s statement comes two days after President William Ruto reiterated that the 140-kilometre Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit dual carriageway will be critical in easing traffic congestion along the busy corridor.
“In October, I will be here to begin the construction of this road from here to Naivasha and finally to Nakuru, from where we will extend it to Malaba,” the president said on Sunday, August 10.
Once completed, the Transport Cabinet Secretary, Davis Chirchir, in a statement on Tuesday, August 12, confirmed that the government will introduce a tolling system on the highway to generate sufficient funds for road maintenance.
