The irate landowners were reacting to a report by the Auditor General which revealed that KETRACO has an outstanding compensation to landowners for way-leaves running into billions of shillings
Sources at The National Treasury however hinted to The Weekly Vision that KETRACO has all the money needed to compensate landowners
Landowners across the country are appealing to the government, non-governmental organizations and civil rights organizations to help them get Ksh. 2,724,649,715 in compensation from Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (KETRACO). The affected land owners claim that they surrendered their parcels of lands in respect to regulations which require any structures including semi-permanent and permanent houses, cattle sheds, bomas or outhouses that are within the way-leave to be compensated at the current market value. Landowners now accuse the management at KETRACO of using delaying tactics and for failing to compensate them for the land.
The law stipulates that compensation for structures is paid as soon as valuation is concluded and before line construction starts, 70 per cent of the valuation is paid at the beginning and 30 per cent after the demolition of structures in the way.
The irate landowners were reacting to a report by the Auditor General which revealed that KETRACO has an outstanding compensation to landowners for way-leaves running into billions of shillings. The KETRACO management on its part is blaming the delays on the National Treasury, the long negotiations between land owners, the Company and various County Governments. The Auditor General reveals that the delays in compensating Project Affected Persons, (PAPs) may lead to legal suits, cost escalations and project delays. Sources at The National Treasury however hinted to The Weekly Vision that KETRACO has all the money needed to compensate land owners.
The Auditor General report further reveals an arbitration case between the Company and a contractor for the termination of a contract for the construction of a 132KM of 400KV double circuit transmission line from the Lessos substation in Kenya to the Tororo substation in Uganda has remained unresolved since April 2016. The tribunal issued an award in favour of the contractor on 30th July 2019 amounting to Euro 37,365,691 or approximately Ksh. 4.5 billion, which included termination costs, legal costs and other claims amounting to Ksh.2,223,137,553.
The KETRACO Management considered the decision against the public interest and sought assistance from Attorney General’s office in setting aside the Tribunal’s award. However, the award was upheld by the High Court of Kenya on 16th February 2020.
The report further adds that it was not possible to confirm whether the project would be completed soon, the additional costs which would be necessary to complete the project or the losses which the Government of Kenya would suffer if the project is not completed.
In the circumstances, the award has resulted in unforeseen legal and arbitration costs, termination charges, and other claims. Further, a review of the project status report indicated that an amount of Ksh.3,976,801,443 had been paid to a contactor in respect of Bomet-Sotik, Mwingi-Kitui-Wote-Sultan Hamud, Nanyuki-Nyahururu and Olkaria transmission lines for contracts that have since been terminated while an amount of Ksh. 8,714,632,590 was incurred on the construction of the Lessos-Tororo-Transmission line which had stalled.
Management has not explained the reasons for the termination and measures instituted to recover the payments made to the contractors, the report adds. In the circumstances, it was not possible to confirm whether value for money was obtained on the expenditure of Ksh.12,691,434,033 on the four (4) transmission lines.
