Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau has asked the Kisii County government to repossess the Suneka airstrip land that has been eaten into by private people. Transport Principal Secretary Nduva Muli, who represented Kamau, said that the encroached land could hamper the Sh53 million facelift project of a two-kilometre runway that is set to take place in the airstrip for lack of space. Speaking in Kisii town after touring phase one of the project that involves fencing, VIP lounge and car park, Muli said that they need the land for the runway to enable big aircraft to land at the airstrip easily. Muli said that the government will finance the project next year as it wants the airstrip to start operating very soon. “The national government wants to finance the project next year and have the airstrip operational soon and I want to call on your governor to make sure that all grabbed airstrip land is reclaimed,” said Muli. Governor James Ongwae directed roads executive Skitter Ocharo to constitute a taskforce to assess the land and produce the report within a month for action. The governor said some local people who were displaced had been relocated, adding that he was shocked that part of the airstrip’s land had been encroached on. “I want to ask my roads executive to form a taskforce that will assess the land and have the report ready in one month,” said Ongwae.

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