The planned opening of Sh 250 million Green Park bus terminus is facing headwinds as Kenya Railways pensioners demand payment for the land where the bus stage sits ahead of its opening.
The land that the terminus sits on was acquired by the national government from the 8,000 member Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme.
According to Henry Toili, a member of the trustees who manage the pension scheme, the government had struck a deal worth Sh 7.9 billion to purchase the 18 acre piece of land.
The fee was a result of a valuation conducted by the Ministry of Lands and the National Lands Commission. The pensioners had valued the land at Sh 17 billion.
The amount was to be paid on a monthly basis with the National Treasury remitting Sh 106 million every month starting January 2021.
The government paid a lump sum of 1.2 billion for the 12 months last year, according to Mr Toili. The national government is yet to remit any funds this year.
We have yet to receive a shill this year. The government promised to release Sh 650 million by Friday after pensioners demonstrated outside the Treasury Building. President Uhuru Kenyatta is planning to open the terminus, yet his government is yet to honour its promise, said Mr Toili.
A total of 8,000 pensioners have not been paid since January, and the youngest among the pensioners is 50 years old, he said.
On Tuesday, Nairobi Metropolitan Services NMS announced that the terminus will begin operating on Wednesday after more than a year of construction and trial runs.
Starting on May 24th, all Public Service Vehicle PSVs plying Ngong and Argwings Kodhek roads will use the terminus. Three days later, matatus plying the Lang'ata Road route will move to the terminal.
In March, the NMS had said it planned to relocate all matatus from the city centre from this month, starting with those designated to move to the Green Park terminus.
The terminus, located at the former Lunar Park, is able to accommodate between 300 and 350 vehicles at any one time, processing about 1,000 PSVs per hour and up to 20,000 per day.
In March, NMS announced that only three matatus per sacco will be allowed to access the terminal at any given time.