A Cry for Nguni- Nuu road
OPINION
By Fred Maundu
Every time Kenyans go to a general election, voters are promised heaven by politicians seeking votes. However, once the politicians secure those positions, the promises collapse. Some are somewhat realized and others are not. The residents of Mwingi East Sub County in Kitui County and especially those who use Nguni-Nuu Road face this nightmare.
This is the area where the killer Enziu River is located. The river has taken so many lives, yet no leadership- local or national appear perturbed. Up to this day, there is no bridge and the potential to lose other lives is full.
On this 35Km stretch, you will come across huge potholes. It's now 5 years plus since the former President, Uhuru Kenyatta launched this 35Km road project. He did it on June 30, 2017. The project aimed at upgrading Nguni -Nuu road to Bitumen Standards.
In this region, this was the first project since independence that locals thought would have positive benefits in both dry and rainy seasons. Since then, the road has been done for about 20Km. Be that as it may, the section now has degenerated and is currently in poor state because some sections have been swept away by rain and about 15 Km are full of soil heaps, heaps of gravel and stones.
The road is impassable and to some extend, risky to drive through. One cannot say its COVID-19 pandemic that impended its completion. NO!
Residents are now hopeless about it since this has become the reference tool during campaigns and there is no single leader- not the current Governor Julius Malombe, Senator Kiio Wambua, Woman Representative MP Kasalu or even the local MP has vowed to act despite numerous calls to complete the project.
Residents are concerned why leaders local are so dumb about this sorry state of the road when the neighboring, Tana River County managed to do a 46 Km Cheredende -Bura -Hola Road (B89) at the same time. Where did we go wrong? Should we wait for other five years to listen to the same lies? I wouldn’t be wrong if I say empty talk reigns here! The delay is exacerbating the problems and this is not what Reclamation, Transformation and Prosperity Agenda for Kitui County we were promised.
