Swazuri rejects verbal Sh1.3bn by-pass land pact

Politics and policy

Land Commission Chairman Mohamed Swazuri. PHOTO/FILE 

By EDWIN MUTAI

In Summary

• The Southern by-pass is a Sh17.2 billion dual carriageway stretching from Mombasa Road to Limuru Road and is set to be opened in June next year.
• Tom Chavangi, the NLC chief executive officer, said the commission cannot authorise compensation without valid agreements.
• The by-pass is intended to divert heavy traffic flow from the Nakuru-Nairobi-Mombasa highway. The stretch will carry heavy trucks according to international standards and will have 21 underpasses, seven bridges and four interchanges.

Compensation for land owners who paved the way for construction of Nairobi’s Southern by-pass has hit a snag after it emerged they agreed verbally on a Sh1.3 billion deal.

 

National Land Commission (NLC) Thursday told Parliament that it cannot approve payments without written agreements.

The Southern by-pass is a Sh17.2 billion dual carriageway stretching from Mombasa Road to Limuru Road and is set to be opened in June next year. Construction started in November 2011.

Tom Chavangi, the NLC chief executive officer, said the commission cannot authorise compensation without valid agreements.

“It is not possible for us to release the Sh270 million which was forwarded to us in March by Kura (Kenya Urban Roads Authority) without the agreements with landowners,” he told the National Assembly Committee on Lands and Natural Resources. Muhammad Swazuri chairs the NLC.

The committee was also told that land compensation for the 28-kilometre road was revised from an initial estimate of Sh450 million to Sh1.37 billion after the final valuation.

“We agreed with the land owners verbally and we neither have minutes nor signed agreements with them. We agreed over a cup of tea and through verbal engagements when we visited the site,” said Kura general manager John Mwatu.

READ: Roads authority plans pay talks with landowners

The committee had summoned both Kura and NLC to explain why five of the 25 landowners whose properties stand in the Cabanas junction interchange have not been compensated to pave way for the completion of the by-pass that runs through to Bomas of Kenya.

Mr Mwatu said the five land owners refused to have their property demolished before it was valued and paid upfront.

“With regards to the 20 landowners, they agreed that Kura should go ahead and construct the road project as they await compensation,” said Mr Matu.

“I agree that we had failure on our part. The problem was that this project, like many others, was caught up in transition of laws and institutions. That is why we are seeking help from you.”

The by-pass is intended to divert heavy traffic flow from the Nakuru-Nairobi-Mombasa highway. The stretch will carry heavy trucks according to international standards and will have 21 underpasses, seven bridges and four interchanges.