Enforcement officers seen stopping lories on major highways in Nairobi risking their lives /HANDOUTThe Quarry and building materials section in Nairobi county is facing acute shortage of equipment and personnel.
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According to various sources including sand traders and lorry owners, the department lacks necessary equipment for enforcement including the crucial stopping bays for lories fetching building Materials from neighbouring counties of Machakos, Kiambu and Kajiado.
The stakeholders expressed concern that stopping on the busy Mombasa Highway and Thika Super Highway for inspection and payment would endanger the lives of other motorists and road users.
They called on the County government of Nairobi to consider the construction of stopping bays on key border points to ensure their safety during the operation, instead of being flagged on the ever busy highways.
They explained that weighbridges need to be installed on border points to ensure accurate charges for tonnage as opposed to the current situation where they claimed to have been overcharged in some instances.
Some sources also disclosed that, inadequate personnel at the department sometimes results in delays during inspection of the lorries hence paving way for some indisciplined lorry owners to forcefully proceed to their destinations in disregard to the laid down procedures of inspection and payment.
The operations at the section has also been adversely affected by the lack of towing vehicles, with officers resorting to hiring, a venture that has been termed expensive to the taxpayer.
Further more, the shortage of staff at the department has left various key check points unmanned, paving way for unscrupulous lorry owners to evade payment.
Proper enforcement has become difficult due to unsafe spaces of operations, where staff is sometimes forced to stop lorries in the middle of the highways.
Lack of reflector jackets for the staff at the department is another source of concern for the traders who noted that criminals posing as enforcement officers can easily swindle them of their cash, and possible attacks from highway robbers.
The officers at the section are also said to work under difficult circumstances including the scorching sun and heavy rainfall, a situation the stakeholders in the industry insisted it needs to be solved in earnest.
" These officers have no shelter," Christopher Kariuki said.
Additionally, legal loopholes have been singled out as an issue to be quickly addressed.
The stakeholders noted that, a clear legal framework needs to be put in place to clarify how much in fees should be paid to the source County and the Nairobi County where the materials are delivered, in order to avoid the current confusion including duplication of fees among the relevant counties.
They complained that some traders are forced to pay charges for the three county government; from Kajiado, Nairobi to Kiambu while transporting the material, a situation they termed a liability to their business.
