In 2008/09 the National Taxpayers Association (NTA) undertook an assessment of roads infrastructure across Kenya to gain an in-depth understanding of the extent to which the Government of Kenya and citizens (who pay for roads infrastructure through taxes) were getting value for money. The key questions that the study sought to address were: Is the government procuring contractors at a competitive rate in terms of the overall contract value? Are contractors building quality infrastructure commensurate with the money they were paid? Is Kenya getting a good return on its investment?

To undertake this study the NTA contracted qualified and experienced Kenyan engineers to undertake a detailed physical inspection and assessment of a selected number of roads in Kisumu, Mombasa, Machakos and Nyeri districts. The objectives of the road inspections were:

1. To undertake a physical assessment of selected roads infrastructure in four districts to get a snap-shot of the overall quality of investments made;
2. To demonstrate the viability of rapid roads assessments to inform decision-making and planning;
3. To provide practical recommendations that will address the study findings.

Prior to undertaking the study a workshop was held with all contracted engineers to discuss and agree on the methodology to be used in all four districts. At this workshop the reporting format and the sediment processes, such as whom to meet at the district level, and how to go about selected roads, were also agreed. A total of 42 urban and rural roads were assessed across the four districts.

The findings from the roads assessed in each district are listed in the tables below. All contracted engineers were required to give an overall score for each road out of 100%. Based on the final scores each road was classified as either Good (60 to 100%), Fair (50 to 59%) or Very Poor (0 to 49%).