Roads 2000 Programme in Kenya is a strategy for the maintenance of the public road network using local resources and labour. It is aimed at improving accessibility in rural areas. The programme is designed to:

• Be labour-intensive

• Use simple and local tools

• Use locally available materials

• Create jobs for local communities

• Address gender parity (at least 30 per cent women to be employed)

• Enhance local contracting capacity

The Roads strategy fits within Kenya Vision 2030 and emphasizes improvement and maintenance of the country’s road network using labour methods. The benefits are: Kenya has a large unemployed and underemployed workforce that can be used to improve and maintain infrastructure.

By using labour-intensive methods, the country will save foreign exchange that would have been used to import equipment, fuel, lubricants and spare parts from developed countries. The strategy can create about 200,000 jobs a year. Various development partners have agreed to support the Roads 2000 Programme in 37 districts. The donors are KfW (a German development bank), ADB, AFD, SIDA, DANIDA and the EU. The partners have pledged Sh6.241 billion ($78 million) up to 2015. The Government will contribute Sh1.1 billion ($13.7milion) in the same period. 1n2006/07 and 2007/08 1,300km of roads were graveled. An additional 650km were targeted for similar improvements In 2008/09