Road reserve traders hinder Mombasa growth

Traders along Mshomoroni Road in Mombasa County. (Photo: Kelvin Karani/Standard)

The expansion of the Mombasa-Mariakani road into a dual carriageway has hit a wall of opposition.

Residents along the 41.7km road are demanding to be paid before expansion work begins.

Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) Coast Regional Manager Jared Makori said the project is expected to cost Sh22 billion but raised alarm over encroachment on road reserves.

The road is to be expanded into a six-lane dual carriageway. Among the traders on the road are food kiosks, fresh fruits and other shops.

“It is becoming very expensive to expand some parts of the road because of encroachment. Agencies like World Bank and Africa Development Bank are very strict on how we handle such cases in any project that they finance,” said Mr Makori in an interview.

The project includes erection of interchanges, flyovers, bus bays, service roads, truck parking, pedestrian foot bridges, street lighting and associated soft components along the road.

But a spot check by The Standard found that the structures are still standing on the road reserves, pointing to the encroachment problem in the region.

The project co-ordinator, Charles Obuon, said valuers had identified those to be compensated and that 820 structures would be demolished.

He said those found to have encroached on road reserves would not be compensated. In a notice, the Government advised the owners of structures on the road reserves to pull them down.

The National Land Commission (NLC) and KeNHA said compensation and the purchase of the right of way had pushed up the cost of national projects in the region.

road reserve grabbers

Most roads in Mombasa face the same challenge and in some areas, structures protrude to the main roads.

Along the Mombasa-Malindi road, structures that were recently demolished to pave way for the expansion of the road have again been erected especially in Bombolulu, Leisure and Shanzu.

Along the old Kisauni Road, all the 15 bumps on the busy road are unmarked, forcing motorists to make emergency breaks, leading to frequent accidents.

OPEN-AIR MARKET

“All these bumps are not marked. Accidents occur every day because of emergency breaks,” said Jacob Munyatsia, a matatu driver on the route. Like the old Malindi Road, the road leading to Mishomoroni small petrol station is full of road-reserve structures, which pose a danger to residents using the road.

The small petrol pumps at Mlaleo and Barisheba are built on the road reserve and they greatly contribute to traffic jams in the area.

County Government of Mombasa garbage trucks are recklessly parked on the roadsides in areas of Mwembe Tayari market, Bondeni and along the Msanifu Kombo streets.

On Sunday and Saturday, a section of the Msanifu Kombo road is closed and turned into an open-air market.

Most road reserves and footpaths in Kisauni and Likoni were grabbed by traders who ended up erecting permanent structures. Some of the traders are in possession of notification letters from the county authorities allowing them to build temporary business structures.

In Likoni, a section of the Mombasa-Lunga Lunga road has been dug up but it was not clear whether it was the Coast Water and Services Board or the Mombasa Water Sewerage Company that was laying pipes.