Landowners on new SGR route to be paid in a month

Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa (left) shows routes where the second phase of SGR will pass through. [Willis Awandu/Standard]

Affected land owners on the Nairobi-Naivasha railway line will now be paid within one month following an intervention by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Ministry of Lands, National Lands Commission (NLC) and Kenya Railways (KR) have deployed land surveyors and valuers to various sites along the Nairobi – Naivasha SGR (Phase 2A) route to fast track land acquisition and compensation process.

Kenya Railways boss Atanas Maina said the surveyors and valuers will be on ground for the next two weeks to facilitate payments to owners with official and proper documentation.

“This follows a directive from President Kenyatta to finalise the process by end of July 2018 in order to pave way for the project envisaged to be launched on May 31, 2019,” a statement by Kenya Railways reads in part.

President Kenyatta came face to face with demonstrators when he recently undertook an inspection of the ongoing SGR Phase 2A construction.

During the tour, land owners asked the government to first compensate them before they can vacate their parcels for the railway construction to continue. 

Uhuru asked the agencies to address these concerns with immediate effect. Kenya Railways is responsible for determining and surveying the land required for the project, after which the Ministry of Lands provides a pricing index for the identified area for compulsory acquisition. NLC undertakes valuation of the identified land, gives awards and makes payment to PAPs.

Delays in compensation have led to frequent disruptions on the SGR line, in what threatens the construction timelines. Some of the protests have ended up with casualties.