Kiambu county, Governor Ferdinand Waititu’s directive to Tatu City Developers forfeit 10% of the 5000-acre of land has hit a rock.
Speaking to Daily Active, the developers indicated that they will not surrender the 10 percent as required and noted that the project is already at an advanced stage of implementation.
“Tatu City is not a subdivision, rather it is a new city with an approved master plan by government and at an advanced stage of implementation,” read the statement.
Mid-February 2019, Governor Waititu ordered Tatu City developers to hand over 10 percent of their land to be used for public purposes as it is in line with the Constitution.
He added that failure to do so would see the county government decline to approve any building plans for investors who want to build there.
“The Physical Planning Act is very clear that any developer must surrender 10 percent of the entire land to the county government for public use. That is what, as a county, we are telling Tatu City to do. The company should know that approval of building plans for the company will be hinged on the compliance with the law,” noted Waititu
On Sunday, Tatu city had an open day to officially open up Kijani Ridge and the Head of Tatu city stood his ground saying that there is no legal requirement to surrender the land to the county government.
“We will not surrender 10 percent of our land as there is no legal requirement to surrender that land to the County Government. We will comply with all law we have in our plan which we have approval for 30 percent of green land on Tatu City,” said Nick Langford, Head of Tatu City.
The project has faced scandals over the years some including leadership wrangles, a particular situation was when former Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhorowas accused of attempting to rob the main investors of their stake in the business.
Tatu City has, however, taken shape and construction is still ongoing.