The History of KRB dates back to 1992 when the Kenya Government together with the Road Maintenance Initiative (RMI) World Bank team hosted a Road Sector Stakeholders Seminar, to address the deteriorating condition of the road network in Kenya and the constraints to timely and proper road maintenance… read more. The identified constraints were institutional, managerial and financial.
It was resolved that a sustainable source of funding be established and the existing road management institutional set-up be reviewed. In 1993, the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) Act was enacted, providing a sustainable source of funding for the maintenance of the road network.
In 1995, with assistance of the European Commission, the Road Sector Institutional Study was commissioned. Its objective was to identify the most appropriate institutional framework within which the management of Kenya’s entire road network would be most effectively undertaken. The study recommended the formation of an executive roads board, working together with identified road agencies to effectively deliver an efficient road transport system for road users in Kenya , hence the Kenya Roads Board was formed.
The Kenya Roads Board (KRB) was established through an Act of Parliament, KRB ACT No. 7, in 1999 and was given presidential assent on 6 th January 2000 . The Act commenced on 1 st July 2000 and the Board of Directors was appointed. The act specifies the following as the mandates of the board:-
Administer the funds derived from the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) and any other funds that may accrue to it;
Coordinate the development, rehabilitation and maintenance of the road network, with a view to achieving efficiency, cost effectiveness and safety;
Coordinate the implementation of all policies relating to the development, rehabilitation and maintenance of the road network;
Determine the allocation of financial resources from the RMLF or from any other source available to the Board required by road agencies for the development, rehabilitation and maintenance of the road network and
Monitor the operations or activities undertaken by road agencies in the development, rehabilitation and maintenance of the Kenyan road network.
The KRB formation was a significant step towards reforming the road sector in Kenya . KRB’s members, including both individual and corporate, come from both the public and private sectors of the economy. It has eight members from the private sector representing a large number of road user constituents and five members from the public sector.
This representation provides the road users with an opportunity to effectively participate in the management of roads in Kenya while ensuring that utilization of the funds entrusted to KRB is efficiently and effectively carried out as per expectations of the stakeholders.