Demolish illegal structures along road

The recent directive by the National Land Commission to demolish all illegal structures along Outer Ring Road is long overdue.

Unscrupulous land dealers have been using the courts to demand obscene compensation for buildings erected on road reserves. They use political influence to obtain title deeds for these parcels.

For example, the design for the Eastern and Northern bypasses were done by Mwai Kibaki when he was Minister for Economic Planning and Finance. Outer Ring Road was allocated enough space to convert it into a dual carriageway.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) and Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) have let us down for not stopping encroachment of road reserves. These two institutions should be in the fore front crusading for demolition of structures erected on road reserves.

For instance, the interchange connecting Likoni Road and Mombasa Road in Nairobi was squeezed to save money such that trailers tread carefully to avoid tipping over due to the steep gradient.

It is our expectation that the construction of Outer Ring Road will go ahead unhindered to allow for the first entry of bus rapid transport in Kenya. Most importantly, the Ministry of Roads should clearly mark road reserves and prevent intrusion.