Development
Residents of Duka Moja, Duke, Ngoliba among other villages in Thika, Kiambu County can now breathe ease after the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) began repairing a 15-kilometer stretch that has remained dilapidated for years.
The road which traverses most villages within Ngoliba Ward was further ruined by recent floods hindering movement of farm produce and people from one area to another.
Farmers told journalists that their produce has been rotting in the farms as buyers could not access their farms due to poor road network. “We have been struggling to get our farm produce to the market for years now. This could be the reason our village has been dragging on matters development. If done, we believe it will turn around our economy here and even attract more investors,” said Waithera Mwangi, a resident.
Speaking when area MP Alice Ng’ang’a commissioned its construction, the residents expressed hope that repairing of the key road which serves as the link between villages and the busy Thika-Garissa Road will spur economic growth in the area.
Over the years, resident lamented they have had to use long routes to access their homes due to the derelict nature of the key road and urged the government to fast-track its completion to improve their livelihoods.
Besides being impassable, the resident further decried that the stretch has been the hideout of marauding hyenas which have been terrifying them, forcing villagers to go back home before dark consequently blocking 24-hour business
“We have been suffering from hyena attacks in the recent past due to the bad state of the road that has also turned into a bush. We hope that construction will include clearing the bushes to get rid of the dens where the hyenas have been hiding,” Sophia Wambui, another resident said.
Construction of the road, the residents said will ease transportation of their produce to the market thereby enabling them to enjoy the proceeds of their hard labour. MP Ng’ang’a and area MCA Joakim Njama stated that the poor road network in the area has frustrated farmers for decades, a situation that has been impoverishing them.
They however exuded confidence that after its repair, residents will be able to go about their activities without hitches.
“I have told the contractor working on this road to employ locals to not only own the project but also enable them to earn. This road has remained in a rundown state for years but the time for locals to enjoy better services and improved quality of life is now,” stated Ng’ang’a.
She however expressed fears that some run-down roads might remain in their current status for a while after allocations for their construction were cut down in the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2024 that President William Ruto signed into law recently.