Kenyans to give views on tolling law from Tuesday

The public will from Tuesday have an opportunity to give their views on the tolling law that will see motorists charged a fee for the use of the Nairobi express way.

The National Assembly Transport and housing committee chaired by Pokot South lawmaker David Pkosing will conduct the public hearings at Parliament buildings as required by the Constitution.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

The invitation of the public to submit their views is in line with article 118 of the Constitution which provides that Parliament shall facilitate public participation and involvement in the legislative and other business of Parliament and its committees.

“We are on course to deliver the tolling law to enable Jubilee government deliver Nairobi express way which is key in decongesting the city. We as a committee aim to finalise the law and secure house approval by end of June,” Mr Pkosing told the Nation.

“We want to invite the public to present their views to us from Tuesday and assure them that we will take into account everything they will say because we are here as leaders to serve them,” Mr Pkosing said.

The tolling law will help the government in determining the amount to charge motorists that will use the road.

FIRST READING

The Bill, which has already undergone first reading, is coming for second reading when Parliament resumes its sittings next week.

The tolling fund will be used to finance maintenance of highways and repayment of other roads built by private contractors.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has recommended that high-capacity vehicles like transit lorries pay Sh30 per kilometre to use the toll road, while low-capacity vehicles like saloon cars will pay Sh6 per kilometre on the 243km stretch.

In a previous interview with the Nation, KeNHA Director-General Peter Mundinia said motorists will pay the same charges to use the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Westlands expressway that starts at Mlolongo and terminates in Westlands, measuring 18.586 kilometres.

The JKIA-Westlands expressway will have about 10 interchanges based on the project design, implying that it may have a similar number of toll stations.

With a design speed of 80 kilometres per hour, the objective is to reduce the travel time through Nairobi from other parts of the country.

It will save motorists a lot in fuel expenses and loss of productive hours.

The city is already losing Sh50 million daily to traffic jams according to KeNha estimates.