What you need to know ahead of opening of Nairobi Expressway
As the clock ticks towards the opening of the Nairobi Expressway, there has been reports making rounds on social media about fines to be charged for traffic offences on the new Expressway.
Parliament is expected to debate on how the Nairobi Expressway will be utilized, including whether or not motorists will be fined for mishaps affecting infrastructure along the highway.
There have been concerns after local media houses reported Moja Expressway, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) which designed, financed, and constructed the road, unveiled a list of fines of up to Sh8.8 million for damages caused.
But speaking during the Expressway supervision, the departmental committee of transport chairman David Losiakou Pkosing said that there is no such mandate dispatched from parliament and communication will be made in due time.
“There is no fine yet prescribed anywhere because if we are doing fines it has to come into parliament and the committee will process and pass it. We don’t have such a thing,” said Pkosing.
If passed, the fines are likely to add to the growing list of financial pain linked to the use of the Expressway.
The government had earlier reviewed upwards the toll rates for motorists using the Expressway by Sh50 to Sh360 from the previous Sh310 for the full Mlolongo-Westlands stretch, citing weakening shilling against the dollar.
At the same time, Pkosing has given as assurance that the old Mombasa Road will be rehabilitated by a different contractor.
“As a committee, we are concluding a budget and we are going to factor in the issue of mwananchi road (lower deck road). The repair cost will be under a different contractor,” he said.
Earlier, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia indicated repair costs were included in the Sh 89 billion approved for the construction of the Expressway.