Mystery Over missing KBC Station Title Deed
Mystery Over missing KBC Station Title Deed
The national broadcaster, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), does not own the land where its headquarters are located in Nairobi, across from the Norfolk Hotel, as Acting Managing Director Samuel Maina disclosed to Parliament. Maina said that an audit report revealed the land is registered under a different name rather than the Corporation’s name.
The head of the national broadcaster was testifying before the Public Investments Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture, providing information regarding State Corporation-owned property parcels.
The committee emphasized that it was challenging to verify the land’s ownership status and asked why KBC had only obtained 8 title deeds out of the 40 pieces of land they currently hold. It is impossible to determine how much land KBC owns and how secure it is right now. A report spanning the years 2010/2011 mentioned a shortage of titles, yet after 12 years, nothing has changed to address the issue.
The chair of the committee, Hon. Emanuel Wangwe, declared, “These revelations are a threat to government land.” The parliament committee also questioned KBC’s decision to withhold ten land pieces for the audit.
The MD responded by telling the MPs that the company is presently obtaining titles to a large number of its parcels of land. “Chair, we have police protection in addition to fencing our property. We employ transmitters on this land to enable us to do this. For example, our land parcels in Jamuhuri, Meru, and Nyambene are securely locked up “, the MD said.
He did point out, though, that the national broadcaster is engaged in a legal battle with squatters who have intruded on their land parcels, which are 23 acres and 1200 acres, respectively, in Nyali and Komarock along Kangundo Road. He went on to say that KBC and Housing Finance, to whom a portion of the Mombasa land known as Sauti House was sold, are presently embroiled in a legal battle.
In response to a query regarding land use, the MD stated that KBC has been renting out sections of land for agricultural purposes at a rate of Kshs 12,000 per acre in Kitale and Kshs 38,000 per acre in Morania, Meru county. The MD was also given an explanation by the Emanuel Wangwe-led committee as to why Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KENGEN) had not returned generators that were borrowed from the broadcaster and were worth at Kshs 29 million.
The MD replied that the write-off of the loans had been approved by the board of directors of the Corporation. The committee, however, criticized that choice, pointing out that the Public Procurement and Management (Pfm) Act necessitates National Treasury clearance before a write-off can be made.
As a result, the legislative committee requested that the MD come back before them with the KBC Board of Management to provide more justification.
