Vehicles passing through
the flooded Links Road section on Thursday / JOHN CHESOLI
Mombasa transport
executive Dan Manyala assesses the damaged Links Road section on Thursday /
JOHN CHESOLI
The construction of a section of Links Road in Nyali,
Mombasa county begun on Friday providing reprieve for motorists.
Although the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) announced a six-month closure of the section, Nyali MP Mohammed Ali said the construction will not necessarily take the six months to complete.
“That does not mean the road will be closed for six months. It means there are some other natural things that we cannot avoid.
“For example, if it rains for five days consecutively, works will stop and it will derail us. The six-month period is to cater for those unforeseen delays,” Ali told the Star on phone Friday.
He said the road will be raised from just before Quickmart supermarket when the road starts slopping to just after the Links Plaza where the upward slop ends.
This is after the Architectural Association of Kenya Mombasa branch chairman Duncan Odhiambo said the section of Links Road lies below sea level, exacerbating the flooding problem whenever it rains.
“That, coupled with poor planning in the area, where buildings are approved without concern on their effects on other facilities, is what causes flooding.
“The drainage has been blocked and whenever water accumulates during the rainy season, it has nowhere to go and just stays there waiting to evaporate,” Odhiambo told the Star.
Earlier, Kura officials said the construction will take a maximum of three months.
The six-month period announced had caused concern among the business community and architects saying that small stretch should not take that long.
“What the people must know is that we are going to raise that road and finish it to make sure that the cars and people pass there conveniently,” Ali said.
However, he noted, the drainage issue remains in the purview of the county government and called on Governor Abdulswamad Nassir to ensure the drainage is fixed.
Ali said leaders should take responsibility of their own actions and not ride on other people’s successes.
He said he fought to have Kura allocated Sh64 million for the repair of the road after months of dilapidation.
“I see people moving around, showing guests the works I have done and claiming credit for it. If you have a mandate to fulfill, fulfill it to the satisfaction of the people. Don’t wait for others to do their part before you start riding on their projects,” Ali said in a thinly veiled salvo at unknown politicians in Mombasa.
The Nyali MP has long been seen as a lone ranger in Mombasa politics and his activities—even though they have cooled down in the last nine months because of an injury—have always been indicative of someone with an eye on the county’s top seat.
On Friday, however, Ali was coy when asked if he will challenge Nassir for his seat.
“I have heard a lot of people talking. I have heard a lot of conversations. I’ve been quiet for some time but I’ve not been quiet because I like being quiet. I have been quiet because I’m very sick.
“I will give my people the direction of how we are going in future but at the moment my health matters,” Ali said.
He noted for the last nine months, he has been suffering in silence under immense pain but found solace in close friends and people he has been working with coming to visit him at home and wishing him a quick recovery.
“I know my people are asking me a lot of questions, wondering why I am not saying anything, why I am not talking. Others are asking me for direction.
“The signs are all over. They can see. But I’ll give them the direction. Until then, let me heal in peace,” Ali said.
Instant Analysis
The damaged section of the Links Road has become a political hot potato with Nyali MP Mohammed Ali at loggerheads with the county government over its status. While Ali blames the damage on poor drainage by the county, the county says the road is not under them but under the national government and so could not interfere with it through repairs.
