MCAs in Nairobi have raised a red flag over the legality of contracts signed between City Hall and private developers of the urban renewal housing projects
The County Assembly Planning and Lands Committee said the agreements were signed without basing them on any housing policy.
Chairman Antony Kiragu said the County Housing Policy will go for the last reading next week and has to be passed by the assembly.
“At no point in the second session did the assembly pass that the county could do any transaction involving land. So, the policy used to sign the contracts was not ratified and is null and void,” Kiragu said.
Baba Dogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa blamed the developers for failing to check if there was a policy before signing the contract.
“The anomalies we have spotted should have been sorted out before any contract was signed,” Majiwa said.
However, Lands and Housing executive Charles Kerich said no contracts have been signed and negotiations are still going on.
The committee said the developers had been given different contracts yet they responded to a uniform Request for Proposal.
Last year, Kerich had said the joint venture unit sharing ratio would be 70:30 in favour of the developer.
However, the committee said Erdemann, the company awarded for Ngong Road estates Phases 1 and 2, had a ratio of 84:16.
Defending the contract, Erdemann director Zebin Yang said City Hall had re-negotiated the ratio from a previous 82:18.
This was because there were changes made form the original plan from having 4,068 housing units to 5,085 units.
Yang said the proportion was as a result of their contribution to the project in which Nairobi is providing land only.
“The 25 acres are valued at Sh8 billion, and our input makes the total Sh48 billion for the two phases,” Yang said.
He said the contracts for the two phases were signed in 2017 and last year.
Former county attorney Lydia Kwamboka and former County Secretary Peter Kariuki signed on behalf of City Hall, Yang said.
The estates targeted for the project are Pangani, Jeevanjee, Old Ngara,Tsuna Road, Uhuru Estate, New Ngara, Ngong Road estate phase 1 and Ngong Road estate phase 2.