Ksh 5B Goal for Land Sales Along the Athi River
Ksh 5B Goal for Land Sales Along the Athi River
In Machakos County, the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) planned to sell 907 acres of their land in 2022.
EAPCC has been trying to sell the 907 acres from which the manufacturer hopes to make Ksh5 billion, according to the company’s annual report for the full financial year ending June 2022.
“The Company has started a regularization effort for LR 8784/144, 8784/145, and 8784/653, which together total 907 acres and were extensively squatter-populated.
With estimated proceeds of Ksh5 billion, this proposal guarantees that the local community gets the first right of acquisition, according to some of the report. Intriguingly, the corporation published an advertisement on Tuesday, October 16, 2023, listing some of the parcels for sale, including LR 8784/144,145, and 653. However, the manufacturer withheld the price of the land when the company published the advertisement this week.
The company also disclosed in the same report that it had divided the nearby property LR 10424’s 1,000 acres into 50-acre sections, which it wanted to sell in order to make Ksh5 billion. Each of the 50 plots was supposed to be sold for Ksh100 million.
In the report, the corporation stated that one of EAPCC’s strategies for raising operating capital included selling off “idle assets” like property. The business added that it was currently negotiating with squatters suspected of occupying property illegally in Mavoko, Machakos County, in an effort to resolve the ongoing dispute amicably.
It is also noteworthy that a study released by the Auditor General revealed irregularities in the process of selling a portion of the land directly over a period of years.
“The Company entered into a consent to sell land LR. No. 8784/4, Athi River, measuring 337 acres, to a local bidder in 2012 for a price of Ksh2,200,000 per acre as opposed to the carrying value of Ksh5,200,000 per acre. But by failing to submit an adequate bank collateral within the consent period, the buyer violated the consent’s terms.
“The dispute was brought before the court, and on May 3, 2019, the parties reached an agreement at a newly negotiated price of Ksh4,500,000 per acre. The investment property was subsequently revalued by the company to a carrying value of Ksh5,256,291 per acre, according to the audit filed by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in October 2020.
The sale of EAPCC land has generated controversy and received negative press. Before discovering the hard way that the property was not for sale, buyers had been tricked into purchasing the land.
Since President William Ruto ordered the cancellation of land titles for the undeveloped Athi River, the sale of EAPCC land has gained national attention. In accordance with his directive, the authorities entered the area to tear down buildings built on the sizable parcels of property.
