Pensioners petition Uhuru, Raila over Sh1.2 billion pay
By People Team, April 12, 2021
Members of the Kenya Railways Retirement Pension Scheme have appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene over what they say is a delay in payment of Sh1.2 billion compensation for land acquired for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway and the Green Park terminus.
They urged the President to treat their case with urgency saying that they had not received their pension for close to five months. “It’s sad that many people are dying while waiting for their money.
Most of them are elderly and require the money for their medical expenses,” said National Secretary Kenya Railway Workers Association Joab Kidaha.
Kidaha said their frequent visits to the chairperson of the National Lands Commission (NLC) had not yielded any fruit. “We have been visiting
these offices but they have been taking us in circles,’’ said Kidaha.
When he appeared before the Senate Committee of Labour and Social Welfare early this month, NLC chair Gershom Otachi said the commission had finalised plans to remit the money.
“We have been in this matter for some time now but we are happy that we are making some progress. As we have agreed, by tomorrow we expect that NLC will start to pay Sh1.2 billion,” said Otachi.
Treasury plans to spend Sh5 billion to compulsorily acquire Nairobi’s Railways Club and free up land for the expansion of Uhuru Highway and the construction of the Green Park bus terminus. The land belongs to the
Kenya Railways Retirement Pension Scheme.