Govt Releases Ksh100M for City Dwellers After Outcry

by Derrick Okubasu on Wednesday, 11 March 2020 - 11:24 am

President Uhuru Kenyatta signs into law the Movable Property Security Rights Bill 2017, on May 10, 2017.

PSCU

The government, through Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA), has released Ksh100 million to a number of city dwellers after an outcry.

In an interview with Business Daily on Wednesday, March 11, he stated that the money was to serve as the first compensation installment for the residents who were displaced in Dongo Kundu, Mombasa, over the construction of a bridge.

KeNHA confirmed that the money had been dispatched to the National Land Commission (NLC) which was part of Ksh250 million which the residents were demanding.

“NLC is undertaking due diligence before releasing payments to persons affected. We have not interfered with the project affected persons,” the publication quoted KeNHA communication manager Charles Njogu.

Construction work ongoing at the first phase of Dongo Kundu Bypass in Mombasa.

Business Daily

The residents, led by their leader Hamisi Tsuma Mwero, had been demanding compensation after they complained that they were moved from a parcel of land they made a living from, through farming.

“We have been displaced by the construction of the Dongo Kundu project yet we have not been compensated,” the leader had lamented.

The project, which is funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), includes the construction of two bridges linking Tsunza Peninsula in Kwale County with the South Coast Mainland.

The project was awarded to Fujita as the main contractor, which has deployed heavy machinery for the construction.

President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the project on October 18, 2019, during his tour of the coastal region at the time.

When completed, the bridge, which is expected to connect with the 1.4km Mteza Bridge, will be the longest in Kenya at 1,440 metres, outdoing the one in Nyali.

“The Mteza Bridge is seven times longer than Nyali (bridge) and it will reduce costs and time used to cross over to and from South Coast. It will also serve the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone,” KeNHA director-general Peter Mundinia explained.

The bridge is part of the 8.9-kilometre Mombasa Southern Bypass expected to cost Ksh25 billion aimed at reducing congestion at Likoni Ferry and spar development at the South Coast.