Govt issues 30-day notice for vacation of powerline wayleaves » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 27 — The government has given people who have encroached on land reserved for power transmission lines across the country 30 days to clear from the wayleaves.

The clearances which will be coordinated by county commissioners and grassroots-based National government administrators will be done in consultation with the affected individuals according to the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi.

Matiangi gave the notice on Thursday during a consultative meeting with the National Government Administration Officers, county police commanders and senior managers of the Kenya Power (KPLC).

Senior officials from other energy parastatals also attended the forum co-chaired by Energy Cabinet Secretary Monican Juma.

Matiangi said the government was keen to ensure nationwide outages blamed on sabotage and vandalism of power infrastructure including pylons do not recur.

“We must work together to be a step or two ahead of these criminals. This is not about the Ministry of Interior or that of Energy but safety of our people. Working hand in hand will ensure we deliver secure transmission and that our people have access to safe energy,” he said.

The country was plunged into nationwide darkness on January 11 when four pylons tumbled down in Nairobi’s Embakasi after vandals reportedly tampered with critical parts of the installations.

The Interior Ministry pointed out that a scheme to vandalize more pylons in Naivasha that could have resulted in weeks of blackout was thwarted by security intelligence.

The incidences drew attention to the dangers posed by high-voltage pylons snaking through areas where designated wayleaves have been encroached by people.

Depending on load and expansion plans, wayleaves should be between 60 and 120 meters on either side of the transmission line.

National government administrators were also tasked with the enforcement of the ban on the scrap metal trade that was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta Kenyatta on January 20 and that is intended to discourage vandalism of critical infrastructure by denying the material a ready market.

“They will be required to develop a database of all scrap metal dealers in their counties and verify the registration and compliance status of the businesses. “We want to put an order in this madness. We will do so with a measure of ruthlessness,” the CS said.

The Interior Ministry further said that under the new arrangement, county commissioners working with area commanders of Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) and energy sector managers will be required to map out energy installations in their jurisdictions and file bi-monthly reports on their security status.

The CS lamented that the apparent sabotage of KPLC installations amounted to terrorism and undermining of the country’s economy and said the government will borrow from previous successes in adopting an all-of-government approach to secure important investments.

Energy Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma who was also present at the meeting, said repairing the latest vandalism was costly with the Government spending at least Sh 246 million in material and labour while the cost of lost business and damages is estimated to run into billions of shillings.

“The effects on the economy have been colossal. If the Naivasha challenge had not been averted, we would have seen our country plunge to darkness for 3 to 4 weeks,” added the CS.

Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai said more officers from CIPU will be deployed to protect energy installations.

The meeting was also attended by Energy Principal Secretary Maj Gen (Rtd) Gordon Kihalangwa, and chairpersons and managing directors of KPLC and KETRACO.