- Public Accounts Committee heard that Chosen Builders Investment despite receiving Sh135, 470,000 from National Land Commission (NLC) in 2018 is still holding on the title deed.
- NLC was acquiring the land on behalf of the State department of Housing and Urban Development of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
MPs are investigating how the land commission paid Sh135 million two years ago for a land parcel but did not obtain ownership documents.
Parliament's Public Accounts Committee heard that Chosen Builders Investment despite receiving Sh135,470,000 from National Land Commission in 2018 is still holding on to the title deed.
NLC acquired the land on behalf of the Housing and Urban Development Department of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure which was undertaking the multi-billion project.
The 50 acres were meant for the construction of Murang’a Sanitary Landfill Project co-founded by the World Bank.
World Bank has already pumped in Sh700 million into the project that according to records is being done on a private land.
The project was meant to solve solid waste management challenges in Murang’a, Kiambu and Nairobi counties.
PAC has been probing the matter after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagged the transaction in a special audit.
Gathungu in a special audit on NLC's payments on behalf of other government entities for the period 2014-15 to 2016-17 stated the parcel was still registered under Chosen Builders Investment despite the land having been fully paid for.
“NLC made an offer of award of Sh135,470,000 to M/s. Chosen Builders Investments Ltd, vide a letter Ref: VAL 1506 dated 24 November, 2016 signed by Dr Salome Munubi, Director of Valuation and Taxation on behalf of NLC. The plot owner accepted the offer of award on 29 November, 2016,” Gathungu said.
“As at the time of special audit, NLC had paid M/s Chosen Builders Investment Ltd a total of Sh135,470,000 in two instalments of Sh53,000,000 paid on 20 April, 2017 while the final instalments of Sh82,470,000 was paid on January 12, 2018.”
PAC chairman Opiyo Wandayi and Garissa Township MP Aden Duale demanded answers on the whereabouts of the title deeds two years after payments were done.
Wandayi claimed vested interests were at play in the questionable transaction.
“Is the World Bank in the picture that as we speak there is dispute on the land on which their project sits?” posed Wandayi.
Duale accused the ministry of sleeping on the job after it emerged they had not made any move to demand the ownership documents.
“You have to do due diligence on the transaction. Did you raise the red flag that NLC has paid the money and they have not handed over the title deeds,” Duale said.
The committee was meeting with Housing PS Charles Hinga in the morning sitting and is also scheduled to invite Chosen Investment over the matter.
-Edited by Sarah Kanyara