Mega projects stall over land owners’ demands for hefty compensation

Demands for hefty compensation by land owners is holding back big government development projects at the Coast.  These unwarranted demands for settlement have significantly increased the cost of projects with the National Land Commission (NLC) revealing that some investors have pulled out because of they cannot meet these costs.

The problem has been compounded by the involvement of politicians where costs are significantly inflated. Some landowners at the Coast have even dismissed government valuers and opted to move to court to stop proposed projects.

NLC says that if this goes on, it may forcibly evict those who make these unreasonable demands. 

“There is an undesirable culture spreading at the Coast and the country at large. People have come to believe that every big government project   comes with bags of money for compensation," said NLC Commissioner Samuel Kipng’etich Tororei in Lamu recently.

The commission's chairman Muhammad Swazuri believes these unjustified demands are ultimately counterproductive. “They are delaying and frustrating the implementation of key national government projects, and ultimately discouraging investors,” said Dr Swazuri.

“Imagine the case where the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor alone requires around 10 million acres of land. We must stop these compensation arrangements and resort to relocations of the land owners,""  he said. In Swazuri's view landowners are unfairly exploiting the provisions in the law that call for compensation for property they have to surrender to the State. Thousands who are affected by the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and Lapsset projects are demanding hefty payments. The Sh380 billion SGR project is still facing resistance in some pockets of Mombasa where the rail system terminates at the port. Some 1,700 fishermen are demanding Sh2.1 billion as compensation to surrender fish landing sites. To make up for their loss, fishermen from Mkupe, Mwangala, Kitangajuu, Likoni and Timbwani have demanded new boats,  cold storage equipment and facilities, and new landing sites besides cash. 

Demands for compensation have been defended. Mombasa County BMU Network chairman Kelly Konde said the SGR project and the planned construction of a bridge at Mkupe for the Dongo Kundu bypass have hindered fishing and affected livelihoods.

Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA), which is involved in the bypass project, is still grappling with the cost implication.  

KeNHA Coast Regional Manager Jared Makori says the completion of the Sh2.7 billion Port Reitz/Moi International Airport access road project is two months behind schedule because the authority does not have full access to the mapped route.

“Acquisition of the right of the way is a big issue in some of our big projects.  In some cases it has doubled the cost of the project and become a big burden to  the government,” he said.

For instance, the compensation row has affected the 18km Mombasa Port Area Road Development Project in Changamwe financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency at a cost of Sh29 billion, said Makori.

The issue of compensation is also unresolved for the Mombasa-Jomvu-Maji ya Chumvi project. To compound the problem, expansion of the 31km stretch from Jomvu to Maji ya Chumvi has been hindered by encroachments. In Lamu, two mega wind projects are also lagging behind  as a row over compensation rages.  The Sh21 billion wind power project, which was to be supervised by the Belgium renewable-energy developer Electrawind and its local partner Kenwind, has not taken off  five years after it was commissioned.

“We have left the matter with the NLC, but it is correct to state that the issue of compensation of the 259 squatters on a 3,200-acre  land parcel has delayed the implementation of the project,” said Kenwind Director Susan Nandwa. Work on the 350MW wind power project in Lamu which was to be supervised by the Cordisons International Limited and a consortium of US investors f  has also not started a year after it was commissioned.

Crispin Kodi, Cordisons International Executive Director, says phase I of the project, which is expected to cost Sh23 billion, was scheduled to start last year but the final land lease instrument has not been signed.

The firm and Lamu County have signed a land lease agreement and Memorandum of Understanding for the 11,000 acre land in Kiongwe.