Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua does not have the ability to ease frequent traffic snarl ups along Mombasa Road, Athi River Police boss Kizito Mutoro has said.
Mutoro said the county government does not have adequate resources and expertise to open up the highway by unblocking feeder and access roads in Athi River town that were blocked by the Standard Gauge Railway Project contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation as promised by Mutua during the previous Easter holidays when he toured the town.
“It is like a boy promising his girl friend that he will build him a mansion hoping his father will provide him with resources to do so, what happens if the father fails to do so, nothing,” said Mutoro.
Mr Mutoro said the highway’s construction and expansion is the national government’s mandate constitutionally and therefore the leadership of Machakos government was just making noise.
“It is the national government through the Kenya National Highways Authority that is constitutionally responsible and has the mandate and capacity to construct and expand highways like Mombasa Road,” said Mutoro.
Mutua toured Athi River town during Easter holidays after bodaboda operators from the region blocked the Mombasa Road in protests on Good Friday completely paralyzing transport on the road for more than six hours.
He later held a meeting with the area sub county security team in Athi River town headed by deputy county commissioner Albert Kimathi and said his government would in two weeks survey and open up the blocked feeder roads connecting Mombasa and Namanga Roads through Athi River town, Namanga and Mombasa Roads through Bamburi Cement Company, Athi River and Mombasa Road through stage 39 bridge and Mombasa Road and Athi River town through Devki to ease traffic and Nairobi – Mombasa highway in Athi River town area.
So far the Machakos government has done nothing on the roads to that effect.
The highway experienced a 16-hour traffic snarl up between 3.00pm on Sunday and 8.00am on Monday morning following a demonstration by heavy commercial track drivers operating between Nairobi and Mombasa towns.
They claimed they faced lots of insecurity on the road while at work.
Mutoro however, disputed their claims arguing there were few hooligans who had intentions to block the highway using their tracks to interrupt operations on the road for unknown reasons but were intercepted by security organs in the region earlier before their execution.
He said the heavy traffic snarl up experienced on the road on Sunday evening until Monday morning was due to heavy downpour experienced in the region for 46hours before the snarl up.
Mutoro who spoke to this writer at the region’s deputy county commissioner’s office in Athi River town on Monday said the officers had successfully managed the traffic and it was flowing normally.
He said the vehicles that got stuck in the mud and those that engaged in road accidents on the highway during the long snarl up were overlapping.