By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 8 June 2026 - Residents of West Sakwa in Migori County have expressed strong appreciation for the national government following the commissioning of the tarmacking of the Rongo–Kanyawanga–Ringa–Kodongo–Saria–Dede–Ombasa–Rapogi road, a key infrastructure corridor expected to transform mobility, trade and access to services across the region.
The project, unveiled in a ceremony attended by Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury CPA John Mbadi, Migori Governor Dr Ochilo Ayacko, Awendo MP Walter Owino, Nyando MP Jared Okello, Kuria East MP Marwa Kitayama, Uriri MP Mark Nyamita Suna West MP and Rongo MP Paul Abuor, has been presented by leaders as part of a broader national and county effort to open up rural economies through road connectivity.
"These are the services we expect to see our government do for us courtesy of our elected leaders. This one we say job well done and congratulations to all," said George Opiyo.
Speaking during the commissioning,in Dede market , National Treasury CS Mbadi said the government remained firmly committed to sustaining infrastructure development despite fiscal pressures, noting that road projects were central to Kenya’s long-term economic transformation agenda.
The CS said the Treasury would continue prioritising funding for critical infrastructure, especially in agricultural regions such as Migori, arguing that improved roads directly translate into increased productivity and market access.
Mbadi further stated that prudent financial management was ensuring continuity of development projects across the country, adding that the government was working to align national budgeting with visible grassroots outcomes.
He pledged that more resources would be mobilised to support similar road networks in underserved areas, saying the objective was to ensure equitable development and strengthen rural economies.
" Infrastructure development remained a key pillar of the government’s economic strategy, stressing that ongoing reforms in public finance management were designed to guarantee value for money and timely completion of projects," Mbadi told the residents.
He said the Migori road project was a demonstration of what coordinated planning between National and county government for the common good of all the residents .
Governments could achieve.
Migori Governor Dr Ochilo Ayacko welcomed the project as a major boost to the county’s economic prospects, saying improved road infrastructure would significantly reduce transport costs and enhance the movement of goods and services.
He said the county government had consistently advocated for better connectivity, noting that the partnership with the national government was now yielding tangible results.
Governor Ayacko further observed that the road would have a multiplier effect on agriculture, trade and access to essential services such as health and education.
Ayacko called for unity among leaders and residents to safeguard ongoing development projects, saying sustained collaboration was key to ensuring long-term progress in the region.
Awendo MP Walter Owino described the commissioning as a turning point for local development, saying residents had for years endured poor road conditions that hindered economic activity.
Owino said the new road would ease transportation challenges and stimulate business growth, especially for small-scale traders and farmers who rely heavily on efficient market access.
Nyamita and Kuria East MP Kitayama also lauded the project, saying it would open up previously marginalized areas and strengthen inter-county trade links.
Kitayama said improved infrastructure remained central to bridging development gaps, adding that his constituency would continue supporting initiatives that enhance regional integration and economic empowerment.
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Elsewhere in Rongo, Abuor also in support echoed similar sentiments, saying the road would directly benefit farmers and fishing communities by improving access to markets and reducing post-harvest losses.
He urged residents to embrace and protect development projects, noting that infrastructure remained a key driver of prosperity in the region.
However, it was the voices of residents that dominated the emotional tone of the commissioning, with several community members expressing gratitude and optimism over the long-awaited development.
Speaking on behalf of the community, Mzee Dominic Akongo Apiyo after Mbadi commissioned the project, said the project marked a historic moment for West Sakwa, adding that residents had waited for many years to see the road upgraded to bitumen standards.
“We as residents now strongly believes that the President means what he says. We are now seeing real action on the ground following his promise to improve our roads,” Mzee Apiyo said, drawing applause from the gathered crowd at the site and on the sidelines.
He said the community now owed the administration of President Ruto a debt of gratitude, noting that improved infrastructure would transform livelihoods and restore dignity to rural residents.
Other residents, including business elites led by Mr George Opiyo, Mr Adero Omonge, Mr Okoth Ocholla and farmers led by Jacob Owuor, Zaidi Aliech, Odhiambo Odembo, Otieno Mikara, heaped praise on President William Ruto administration for his mega infrastructure projects transforming Kenya. They urged him to keep it up.
Residents, Manager Awendo Municipality , Mr. Nelson Mandela, Mr Odhiambo Ocholla, Migori public service board chairman -also expressed appreciation for the project, describing it as a long-awaited intervention that would reshape the local economy.
The Manager promised to explore options of now working with line water sector development partners to take water to the underserved arras of Saria villages while Odhiambo said they will talk with Energy CS Mr Opiyo Wandayi to blend it all with enhance homestead rural electrification projects to light up more gold mining community households in the area working closely with Dr Ayacko.
Like Mr Opiyo, Omonge, Mikara, they, too, praised Ruto’s administration for prioritizing rural infrastructure, saying the decision had renewed confidence in government delivery with residents now looking at other areas too, rationalized.
Several of them went further to pledge political gratitude, saying they would remember the development milestones when the time for elections comes in 2927.
They said the road had restored hope among residents , majority cane farmers and artisanal Gold miners led by Onyango Adingo and Odhiambo Odembo who while discussing about the road said it demonstrated that government promises could translate into tangible action.
As the project begins to take shape, expectations remain high while discussing the improved road network with many people saying it will unlock economic opportunities across West Sakwa and beyond, easing transport, boosting trade and strengthening the region’s integration into broader national development corridors.
The road cuts across three constituencies, Awendo, Rongo and Uriri represented in the National Assembly by Owino, Abuor, and Nyamita.
It also cuts across several wards and is a key trade route joining the three constituencies and also linking traders to the neighbouring Homabay County through Dede -Nyakuru, Kabuoch and Ndhiwa routes if they play it from either sides en route to Homabay county.
The construction of Kanyawanga - Kwoyo - Dede - Rapogi-Awendo will begin from two sections of the road.
One team will begin from Kwoyo towards Dede as the other begins from Dede towards Odongoher.