Garissa(Mogadishu24)-Kenyan Minister for Roads and Transport, Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen, stated on Wednesday that the government can do nothing about opening roads in North-eastern while appearing before the Senate plenary to respond to questions on roads and airport infrastructure.

The Cabinet Secretary stressed that the northern part of the country has experienced torrential rains and riverine flooding, tracing back from Ethiopia.

“The Northern part of the country is severely affected, and the North-eastern and Upper Eastern parts of the country are the ones that have received the highest volume of rains; not just in the country but also in neighbouring countries like Ethiopia, and that’s why Marsabit is affected, especially in Logologo area and many parts of the county,” CS Murkomen said.

CS Murkomen announced that the Ministry of Roads can do nothing to reconstruct the flood-swept roads within the northern region.

“The road from Garissa to Wajir, the road from Nuno-Madogashe, the road FROM Wajir to Mandera, and the road in Tana River, including Hola town where the only Tarmac road in the town was swept,” the CS stated.

“At the moment, there is little we can do to continue construction of roads. We cannot attempt to restore the roads even because the rains are not over yet,” he added.

The Cabinet Secretary said that the Ministry has appointed the Kenya National Highway Authority to be the lead agency in terms of emergency response.

He added that the government has deployed contractors to be on standby to help in opening the roads and construct temporary box-culverts to allow transportation of goods and services to the most affected counties.

Northern-Eastern counties were highly affected by floods as the roads in the region became impassable for more than four weeks, disrupting the supply of essential commodities.

The counties of Wajir and Mandera have undergone extreme power blackout after Kenya Power and Electricity Company (KPLC) experienced fuel shortage.

According to government authorities, the continuous torrential rains, which began in October, have killed over 65 people, affected more than 100,000 others, with tens of thousands being displaced.