By Obegi Malack
A contractor tarmacking Gataka road in Kajiado North Constituency has been forced to return to work after public outcry.
The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation was on Wednesday seen working on the section that had become inaccessible.
Gataka road residents had protested the speed at which the contractor was doing his work, they had planned a major protest to force the government to cancel the tender and award another company.
The residents said the contractor had started working on Gataka Rongai section last year and made it impassable; the company left the incomplete section and proceeded to other sections in Oloolua Ward.
A resident Gonza Fwonyellence said the contractor made the road impassable, the road is used by PSVs and personal vehicles due to traffic jam on Magadi road.
Area MP Joseph Manje, who was accused of not doing enough to ensure the road is fixed on time, said the tarmacking was slowed because of long rains.
Manje accused Kenya Power of demanding the construction company to pay sh 28 million to relocate its power lines, he said the charges were too expensive and had tarmacking of the road delayed. He said the power company should reduce the charges to allow work to proceed.
The Chinese company was awarded a tender of Sh 2 billion to tarmac 64 kilometers in the constituency the work will be completed in February 2022.Other feeder roads in the constituency have also become impassable due to long rains with the county government promising to fix them after the rains.
Olkeri Residents Association has also written to Kenya Rural Roads Authority to complain over the quality of road works carried out by the company on Olkeri to Gataka Section .They detailed that the tarmacked road has major cracks and has no bus stops and poor drainage system.