Welcome Kaimenyi, but be warned about Ardhi House

Tuesday saw Prof Jacob Kaimenyi moved to what is easily one of the most acrimonious portfolios - the Lands ministry. Nearly every administration has struggled to get a grip on the ills facing the lands sector and many will be waiting anxiously to see what the professor will bring to Ardhi House.

Here is a tip: The fights at the Education ministry will have done little to prepare you for a sector in the grip of cartels and mafia-like criminal elements. Sossion and Co might be tough-talking, but the most they can throw at the Cabinet Secretary in charge are threats issued at press conferences with one finger in the air spiced with chants of solidarity.

Ardhi House corridor operators do things a little differently. They do not call press conferences, no sir. They operate in the shadows, pulling the carpet from under your feet when you least expect. They are like the pickpockets who steal from you and then set the crowd on you shouting ‘mwizi!, mwizi!’ louder than anyone else. Anyway, good luck.

Elsewhere, property developers, marketers and financiers keen to grow their customer-base have been paying more attention to property tours, and this year’s tours are winding up.

KCB will on Saturday host potential home buyers to the last edition of the 2015 Property Tour, as it leverages on partnerships to grow its mortgage book. This comes after the lender recently announced plans to enter into construction to address the huge housing deficit in the country.

Speaking about the tour, KCB Director of Mortgages Sam Muturi said the tours provide a unique platform that allows both established and potential estate developers as well as other professionals involved in the real estate industry to meet and share ideas. The tour will be flagged off at Kenyatta International Convention Centre at 7.30am.