RA bemoans road reserve encroachment
The Roads Authority (RA) has bemoaned people’s continued encroachment on road reserves despite efforts to stop them from doing so.
The authority has since said it will start demolition of any illegal development within road reserves and will not pay compensation to anyone.
RA chief executive officer Trevor Hiwa, in a press release, reminded the general public that all public roads in Malawi fall under the Public Roads Act (Cap. 69:02), which stipulates widths of road reserves.
He said: “The general public is hereby reminded that it is a criminal offence punishable by law for any person to do any of the following acts or things on land in a road reserve without consent in writing of the highway authority: erect or alter any structure, plant any tree or bush and cultivate or prepare for cultivation.”
He said any member of the public who erects any structures or cultivates in the road reserve will do so at their own risk.
According to the Public Roads Act, widths of road reserves for public roads in Malawi are 60 metres for main roads, 36 metres for secondary, tertiary and district roads and 18 metres for branch and estate roads.
In a related development, the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has requested those who have encroached on the corporation’s high voltage power corridor (way leave) to remove or demolish their structures within 90 days of the notice dated Wednesday July 8 2015.
