The Mountain Journal
The County Government of Kiambu has
allocated over 10 acres of its prime land as part of the regional government’s
initial partnership with President William Ruto’s administration to develop
affordable housing.
Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s
administration twice wrote to Principal Secretary Charles Hinga, to inform him
of the county’s readiness for the Head of State to launch projects in sites
which have been cleared in Thika and Kiambu and was awaiting the national
government to identify the contractors.
In a correspondence to the
PS, Salome Wainaina, the County Executive Committee Member for Land,
Housing, Physical Planning, Municipal Administration, and Urban Development
says a collaborative team from the State Department of Lands and Housing and
the county has cleared the Bustani site in Thika, which is situated on block
11/342 Thika Municipality and spans three acres.
Additionally, Depot Estate (LR No4953/671), also situated in
Thika, spans three acres, and Council Estate in Kiambu town constitutes five
acres that have been created for the projects that are part of the president’s
flagships and meant to create jobs for the youth and provide affordable homes.
“Please take note that, the county team of Affordable Housing
and your team (from PS Hinga’s office) have finalized the process of erecting
beacons of the agreed three parcels of land located in Kiambu and Thika,” said
the letter by Ms Wainaina to the PS on October 18, 2023.
According to Ms Wainaina’s letter, and including photographs of
the site, the Bustani site, which is close to the Starehe, Ofafa, and Jamhuri
Estates, is vacant and unoccupied, but all parties involved and tenants in the
surrounding estates have been informed of the projects through public
participation.
At the Depot Estate which is opposite Thika Law Courts, the CECM
notified the PS that it had 74 tenants who had already been sensitized and were
to be relocated while at the Council Estate in Kiambu Town adjacent to Kiambu
Prisons, it had 50 tenants and relocation was ongoing.
Due to the State Department’s
alleged delay in responding to the county letter, Ms Wainaina wrote Mr
Hinga a follow-up letter informing him that the county was prepared and
awaiting a date for the president to kick off the projects.
“Kindly advise the County when
H.E. The President will be available to launch the Affordable Housing Program
in the three sites identified in Kiambu County namely, Kiambu, Depot, and
Sterehe (Bustani),” said the letter dated November 7, 2023, and which The
Standard has obtained a copy.
There has been political wrangling by Kikuyu MP Kimani
Ichung’wa, George Koimbori (Juja), and Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa, who in
their political squabbles against the governor have been claiming that the
county administration lacked commitment to implementing the projects.
When President Ruto visited the
county last month, the governor informed the Head of State that his
administration had finished preparing three affordable housing sites and that
work on a fourth was nearly finished. He added that he was waiting on the State
Department to send out the contractors.
“For the avoidance of doubt, on
this issue of affordable housing, we have three sites that are ready for your
groundbreaking, and the fourth one is almost ready. We are requesting you to
ask the ministry (lands), to bring the contractors. We have been waiting up to
today. We have beaconed the sites so that the young people can start
working (in the construction sites),” Governor Wamatangi said.
And, now, the Head of Supply Chain Management Services at the
ministry of lands, on behalf of PS Hinga, in that raises queries on what have
delayed the projects, has placed a tender advertisement inviting interested
eligible bidders for the Bustani, Depot and Limuru projects, with a set
deadline of November 24, 2023.
Governor had blamed the delay in the approval of some of the
sites for the affordable housing on grabbing of the earmarked land by some
unnamed politicians and private investors, who he said were sponsoring
political infighting in the county.
Mr Wamatangi said individuals who are behind land grabbing have been working with
area leaders to sabotage his development agenda, prompting the president to direct Regional
Commissioner and the County Commissioner to evict the grabbers to enable the
construction of government projects.
“Some people have obtained titles for public land using
crooked ways. I am directing the Regional Commissioner to ensure that they are
thrown out. We shall not allow individuals to block development activities in
Kiambu,” Ruto said at Kamwangi in Gatundu North when he launched the
construction of Thika-Magumu-Flyover Road.
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