Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Members of the National Assembly have told ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), as well as State parastatals responsible for implementing government road and water projects to ensure land availability and compensation for owners are secured before signing any contracts.

The government has been forced to pay contractors huge penalties for idle time, as they are unable to access the designated project sites for road and water infrastructure development.

MPs expressed concern over some State agencies, namely the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), which have been identified as the most notorious agencies for delaying compensation meant for project land.

The two agencies owe contractors and landowners billions of shillings, in taxpayer funds as penalties for project delays caused by land compensation issues. For instance, in Taita Taveta County, hundreds of landowners affected by the Standard Gauge Railway project and the Mombasa-Mariakani Road dulling project have not yet received compensation.

Co-funded

Led by Leader of Minority Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja), the lawmakers demanded that State agencies ensure they have sufficient budgetary allocations, which should then be transferred to the National Land Commission for the purpose of compensating affected individuals.

“There can be no shortcuts. Commencing a project before compensating the affected individuals for their land is unacceptable. According to the law and guidelines, implementing agencies must ensure they have adequate budgetary allocations before undertaking any projects,” said Wandayi.

He underscored that even if a project is co-funded by international partners, the funds for land compensation must typically come from the Kenya government.

“It is crucial that implementing agencies take the responsibility of allocating sufficient funds and transferring them to the National Land Commission for the purpose of compensating affected individuals,” added Wandayi.

Leader of the majority Kimani Ichung’wah stressed that when a State agency engages a contractor, it must ensure that there are funds earmarked for land compensation.

“The money should be transferred to the National Land Commission, and that affected individuals have received compensation before the contract is signed,” Ichung’wah said. Five-year delay The MP expressed concern over the misuse of public resources by State agencies, as contractors penalise entities like KeNHA for project delays caused by the inability to access designated project sites.

“We cannot allocate public resources to road construction when engineers and designers are aware that the planned road will traverse land owned by members of the public who have not yet been compensated,” said Ichung’wah.

He raised concern about the unresolved junction around Gitaru, where the Southern Bypass, Northern Bypass and Great Northern Corridor intersect with the Waiyaki Way-Rironi interchange, which has remained incomplete for four to five years due to land compensation issues.

Meanwhile, Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen lamented that a number of individuals have been waiting for many years to be compensated for road and water projects.

“In the case of water projects, ministries rushed into signing contracts without securing suitable sites for development,” expressed Bowen. He added: “We also need to hold chief executive officers, ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), and parastatals implementing government projects accountable, ensuring that land availability and compensation for owners are prioritized before signing any contracts.”