Residents living along the border of Imenti in Meru County and Tharaka Sub-County in Tharaka-Nithi have raised alarm over what they describe as prolonged neglect by their respective county governments, forcing locals to take matters into their own hands.
In Kathuura and Mugui areas of Tharaka Sub-County, residents were seen manually repairing roads, saying the routes have not received any maintenance for years. According to locals, the situation has worsened during the ongoing rainy season, rendering the roads impassable and cutting off access to markets, schools and health facilities.
“The roads become completely impassable whenever it rains, yet no effort has been made to fix them,” said resident Muthengi wa Mutua. “We are forced to repair them ourselves because help never comes.”
Residents blame the deteriorating infrastructure for stalled economic activities, noting that farmers struggle to transport produce while public service vehicles avoid the area altogether. They are now appealing to the county government to urgently release funds earmarked for road grading and upgrades.
Area MCA Kennedy Kamunyu joined residents during the road repairs and openly criticised the county leadership, accusing Governor Muthomi Njuki’s administration of sidelining the region. He claimed that despite the County Assembly approving road development budgets totalling nearly KSh 1 billion over the years, there is little to show on the ground.
“It is shocking that such huge allocations are passed by the assembly, yet nothing is visible to show where the money went,” Kamunyu said.
The MCA further raised concerns over the Mukithi Water Project, alleging possible misuse of funds. He claimed that KSh 45 million released by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has not translated into tangible progress.
“A contractor is on site, but no work has been done. We fear the funds may have been diverted,” he added.
Residents are now demanding accountability and immediate intervention from the county government, warning that continued inaction will only deepen hardship in the border communities already struggling with poor infrastructure and limited access to essential services.
Prime Africa News will continue to follow up on the concerns raised by residents and leaders over the stalled projects and alleged misuse of public funds.
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