- The MPs questioned how the construction was approved without securing the land
- Lawmakers ordered for documents detailing the current status of the properties
Hundreds of government houses countrywide are at the risk of being grabbed because the land parcels on which they are built do not have title deeds.
Members of the Public Investments Committee put the National Housing Corporation (NHC) on spot for putting up structures on the plots whose ownership is in question.
The houses likely to be grabbed are on 48 parcels.
The MPs were concerned about the safety of the properties and questioned how their construction was approved without securing the land.
Some 31 properties have been developed – some sold – while the rest are either undeveloped or at various stages of construction.
In Nairobi, the corporation says it has obtained the mother title deed for Kibera flats but is yet to process titles for the sectional properties on the 0.13 hectare plot.
Also at risk of being lost is a parking lot at Highrise which is awaiting indent from the National Land Commission and Lang'ata Phases II, III, and VI, which are still being surveyed.
NHC may also lose land at Mavoko in a dispute over the 12.75-hectare facility claimed by Northern Construction Ltd. An affidavit on the claim was signed by one Mohamed Noor with a business address in Nairobi.
The committee, chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, warned that the corporation may lose out in the face of revelations that the parcel's title deed is with the private developer.
Close by is a plot where the corporation runs its EPS factory – a facility for producing construction materials, as the ownership documents are yet to be transferred by the National Treasury.
In the same area is a 4.8 hectare plot which has been developed but lacks a title – the same said to be with the National Treasury.
Still, in Eastern, NHC is yet to secure titles for its land at Kithimani (Machakos), Athi River, Kitui, Wote, Mutitu, Marsabit, and Mutomo. Documents, among them partial development plans and allotment letters, are with the consultant.
In Central, the corporation is yet to issue title deeds to those who bought its houses in Nyeri. The documents are stuck at the Lands ministry.
A plot on which Wamagana rental houses sit is under dispute while some 28 buyers are yet to get titles for the said surveyed plots in Murang’a.
Much as NHC asserts that it has acquired a title for its beach land at Kilifi, the same remains undeveloped, hence susceptible to grabbing. Part of the at-risk properties in Coast region are 95 plots of 0.0245 hectares each in Kwale.
NHC CEO Andrew Saisi was hard-pressed to explain why the corporation has not developed its land in Bungoma, Busia, Teso, Webuye, Kakamega and Vihiga.
“The schemes are provisional. They were put up to house government officers. There is no mischief in the delayed issuance of title deeds,” Saisi said. “The lands were given by the government or respective local authority. Titling is progressive. We have been able to secure the properties gradually.”
The situation of the parcels may cloud President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four agenda on affordable housing where the government seeks to put up 500,000 housing units.
In Nyanza, the corporations’ plots in Homa Bay, Kisii, Ndhiwa, Manga, Ogembo, Oyugis, Migori, Migosi phases I,II,III, &IV, Mbita, Kisumu Kanyakwar, and Gingo have no titles.
However, rental plots in Homa Bay, Kisii – at Nyanchwa, and Ndhiwa have been developed and sold. The Oyugis property sits on disputed land yet the houses belong to NHC.
The same case applies in Eldoret, Maralal, Iten, Kipkelion, Kapsabet, Molo, Kitale, and Kericho where the titles are being processed by consultants. Most of them have only allotment letters.
NHC has only secured titles, which are in its custody, for the Kibera flats, Siaya (undeveloped), Kilifi beach plot, and Kipchoge in Eldoret.
Nassir said the situation is precarious as private developers may take advantage of the slow titling process to transfer the properties to themselves.
“We need a detailed report of what has been developed on the said parcels. We will also tour the sites to physically verify the status quo,” the Mvita lawmaker said.
“We may be using government money to build properties on private land,” Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala added.
The issue arose during the review of the corporations' audit queries for the financial year ending June 2014, eliciting questions on why it has taken long for the NHC to process the title deeds.