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A wave of vandalism has hit the multi-billion Outer Ring Highway in Nairobi as demand for scrap metals goes up.
Vandals damaging the brand new street are concentrating on the fittings together with guard rails, barrier grills and road mild posts therefore compromising the security of passengers, pedestrians and 1000’s of motorists plying the street every single day. Being a part of the Imaginative and prescient 2030 flagship initiatives, the Sh8.5 billion constructed beneath Kenya City Roads Authority was constructed to remodel the Eastland areas economically and socially however the residents are complaining over vandalism on the roads threatening their security.
“We’re watching our nation being destroyed and finally we’ll be those paying the worth as a result of the Authorities should restore the street for this by both rising taxes or diverting funds from one other mission,” mentioned Sammy Keere, a resident of Donholm.
The five-kilometre stretch from Taj Mall to Donholm has the wanton destruction of the street infrastructure the place boundaries and guard rails have been eliminated.
“I’ve lived right here for 11 years and I watched this street being constructed however it is extremely disappointing that every single day I stroll round right here; the street is being vandalised. You discover one factor lacking within the morning and by night one other may have been eliminated” mentioned Keere.
A tour by The Normal workforce revealed that a lot of the mild posts have been introduced down and people which are nonetheless erected should not have the road lamps. The dualing of the 13-kilometer street was launched by Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta in January 2015.
“I enchantment to the residents to be accountable and defend the infrastructure established within the nation for our personal good,” mentioned Keere.
In response to him, vandalism began with destruction and theft of the road lights posts adopted by the guard rails and now vandals are going for the slabs protecting the drainage traces.
“That is taking place at night time as a result of there is not any mild. I reported to the police, however they’re reluctant to take motion. Now the slabs are disappearing at a really quick price. They’re additionally concentrating on the street indicators and this spells hazard to street customers,” he added.
He argued that the monetary harm of the roads will value the already overburdened residents, arguing that as a substitute of KURA utilizing street upkeep levy, they should use the cash to redo the work from scratch. Final yr Nationwide Transport Security Authority (NTSA) ranked Outer Ring Highway as one of the crucial harmful roads in Nairobi after it claimed 32 lives between January and September 2021 making it the deadliest street in Nairobi.
“The boundaries are speculated to make pedestrians use the footbridges however the vandalism will solely worsen the scenario the place folks dangerously cross the street,” mentioned Keere.
Charles Anunda, a resident of Donholm mentioned lack of road lights alongside the street has led to a rise in felony actions within the space.
“This harm comes all the way down to us as a result of gangs at the moment are regrouping close to the darkish sections to mug unsuspecting passersby. A giant part of the street shouldn’t be lit and the folks can’t stroll at night time. Individuals are mugged as early as 6pm,” he mentioned.
Anunda appealed to President William Ruto to implement the ban on the sale of scrap metals as a mitigation measure to cease vandalism of street infrastructure within the nation.
“The scrap steel sellers are those encouraging this vandalism as a result of they’re in excessive demand for the time being. This was not the scenario about two months in the past however previously two weeks, the slabs are being vandalised one after the opposite,” mentioned Anunda.
He famous that vandalism heightened throughout political campaigns.
“Informal labourers sweep the street regularly and so they will need to have seen what’s going on. The place are law enforcement officials when all that is taking place?” Anunda posed.
The paving slabs are being vandalised and the concrete crashed for the iron rods and the mesh to promote to scrap steel sellers.
“A kilo of steel is bought for greater than Sh100 and every paving slab may have metals weighing about eight kilogrammes. It’s fast cash for the vandals however the results of it are far reaching,” he added.
Nickson Odinda, a bike rider and a resident of Umoja One mentioned poverty and excessive value of residing have pushed the younger folks to vandalise the street fittings to promote as scrap metals.
“If we had safety lights these actions wouldn’t be taking place and we wouldn’t have folks being mugged,” mentioned Odinda.
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