Residents on reserve have 60 days to move
The government has given people living on road reserves in Industrial Area a 60-day vacation notice. They are to pave way for the expansion of Likoni, Enterprise and Lusaka roads.
The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) wants to use the land to expand the roads and construct missing link roads and non-motorised transport paths aimed at reducing traffic congestion.
Starehe Deputy County Commissioner Omar Beja said the contractor was expected to hit the ground on May 1 and all structures in the designated areas must have been pulled down by then.
In a public consultation meeting held at the Railways Training Institute in South B on Tuesday between the persons affected by the project, the Provincial Administrators and the roads agency, Mr Beja said the order must be obeyed.
Residents of Land Mawe, Mukuru Kaiyaba and some private property owners on the roads will be affected.
The DC said the court issued a vacation notice on Friday last week but the authorities would consult and work with the affected people to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
He warned residents against being misled by politicians to resist the project in order to frustrate the Government.
“These roads must be built. Nobody should hold the Government at ransom as we have duly followed the law. A Gazette Notice has been issued before but the Government has gone an extra mile to talk to the people to work together in order to come up with a plan,” said Mr Beja.
The administrator added that a resettlement action plan was being implemented and must be completed before construction works on the roads begin.
At the meeting, the residents and stall owners raised fears that they could end up being duped by the Government.
Some residents said land owners and landlords had threatened tenants against registering as affected parties. They expressed fears that they could lose their property if the Government bought land from the land owners and paid title deed holders only.
Mr Beja said a resettlement committee with representatives from the county Government, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Roads, responsible organisations, affected groups and Kura had been formed to oversee the resettlement plan for the full duration of implementation of the plan.