CECM Roads, Transport and Public Works John Oringo during a press briefing st the department.
Migori County through the Department of Roads has assured the public of their efforts to curb the emergencies on the roads caused by floods.
This is after sharp criticism from residents who term the department like a flower girl among all other departments when it is needed in the most desperate conditions.
Speaking on Monday Transport and Public Works Executive Council Member John Oringo said that they have been working round the clock to solve the impassability of the roads caused by the ongoing rains in the region.
“We have a program of recording emergencies as they occur and that will help us handle the problems caused by floods on our roads as they come,” said Oringo.
However, he castigated the previous regime for failing to maintain or upgrade the roads for the last two years, alluding that it could have weakened the roads subjecting them to vulnerability.
The CEC said that he is working to ensure that the roads that were in bad condition when he assumed office are upgraded to better ones.
So far, the department so far has done access roads that are aimed to enable access of people to hospitals and marketplaces as well as schools,
“We have started by doing access roads to ease the movement of people to schools, hospitals and marketplaces as we also look forward to grading major roads,” said Oringo.
Grounded machines
Although, the CEC admitted that despite the grounded machines they found in the department, they have rehabilitated several.
Within three months, three graders are now functional, five out of the six tippers that were grounded are also in good condition and ready for any emergency.
“We are at least sure that after everything shall have been rehabilitated, we will be able to solve the emergencies on our roads as they come,” he added.
The varying geological structures of Migori County and different soil topologies have even made road maintenance work tiresome.
For instance, Nyatike still remains a major challenge during the rainy season as the floods keep on sweeping away culverts and bridges away.
In the last two weeks, the Department has been tasked with addressing the flooding in Kachieng and Kanyasa wards in Nyatike Sub County.
Angry residents
A day ago, residents from Ranen in Awendo Sub County accused the department as incompetent in the challenges they undergo while using the roads.
They lamented about the poor state of roads, which they have never experienced before.
“We least experienced such challenges of poor roads during the previous reign. We, therefore, want to call upon Governor Ochilo to suspend the incompetent leader in this department,” said Moses Ochieng, a resident of Ranen.
Stubborn rains
Sam Atula, the Chief Officer for the department said that they as a team will embark on road repairs once the rains stop.
Atula said that the ongoing heavy downpour has made it difficult for them to do the necessary and that they will be up to the task once the rains go down.
“We have so far done about 200 kilometres of maintained and new roads and more of this will be completed once the rains cease,” said Atula.
The chief officer said that they intend to do at least 100 Kilometers more road projects before the end of the 2023/2024 financial year.
He also said that they will employ both internal and external mechanisms to ensure that the damaged roads are upgraded, rehabilitated and made passable once the rains stop.
He added that besides the plans, their commitment is to ensure that Migori County residents have access to their destinations despite the challenges brought about by the rains.
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