| dc.description.abstract | Thepurpose of this project was to develop a Roads Information Database and Maintenance System
forKiambu District, Kenya that allows users to have several views of the entire road network in the
district and provide management information for decision support in the road maintenance sector. A
nascent technology that has been employed to achieve this isthe Geographic Information Systems
(GIS). Since roads have a strong geographical component GIS easily lends itself as one of the most
appropriate tools for developing the maintenance system.
Kenya as a country has seen a lot of scarce resources being committed to building and maintaining roads
andbridges. In the 1998/99 fiscal year, only 1.2% of the total national revenue (approximately 2.16
Billion Kenya shillings) was set aside for maintenance and building of roads and bridges. In the
2000/2001 national budget, the allocation for roads was 5% of total revenue which translated to about 6
Billion Kenya shillings (Economic Intelligence Unit, Country Profile 1996-2001, GOK, Printed
Estimates 200112002). Even though much has been achieved to date, the road sector is faced by many
problems including a seemingly irreversible degradation of roads. It is envisaged that even more
resources need to be allocated for maintenance and expansion of the existing road infrastructure inthe
coming years. However, the question in the mind of many road users, taxpayers and road sector
managers is not how much allocation the sector gets but how effectively and efficiently the money will
beused to ensure good road maintenance.
Somecauses of the current poor state of roads in Kenya and indeed in Kiambu district can be traced to
weakpolicy frameworks, lack of strategic planning, corruption, bad politics, overloading, destructive
weather and last but not least archaic road management practices. Because of these, roads have borne
thefull brand of an ever increasing motoring society, overloaded vehicles and the unfriendly elements of
theweather. However, in recent times, the Ministry of Roads and Public Works (MRPW) and local
authorities are facing a lot of pressure from road users and the public at large to demonstrate good road
maintenance practices. Focus is shifting from the traditional methods of road management which are
reactionary to the need forproactive management paradigms that will not only help to optimally
manage the maintenance works of the existing roads network, but also address the need for proper
strategic planning and provide adequate up-to-date information for decision makers in the road sector.
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