Parliament Orders Cancellation Sale of 337-Acre Portland Land
The Public Investment Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy, in a report issued on December 6, recommended the annulment of the transaction involving the disposal of a 337-acre parcel of land owned by East Africa Portland Cement (EAPC).
The Committee highlighted in its suggestions to Parliament that the undervaluation of the prime property would lead to the government facing a loss exceeding Ksh233 million.
Research indicated that in 2012, EAPC made a deal with a real estate firm to vend a 337-acre parcel of land at a rate of Ksh2.2 million for each acre.
This went against the appraisal indicating that the land was valued at Ksh5.2 million per acre.
When the real estate company couldn’t furnish satisfactory bank security within the set timeframe, it allowed EAPC an opportunity to renegotiate the price down to Ksh4.5 million per acre.
The Parliamentary committee discovered that even with the updated pricing, the State was set to incur a loss of Ksh233 million.
Even with the revised conditions, the real estate firm continued to breach the agreement, and by January 2019, they suggested acquiring the land in two parts, dividing it into 160 and 177 acres.
EAPC ultimately turned down the offer upon discovering that the real estate company had included unacceptable terms and conditions while proposing the two-phase purchase model.
“(The real estate company) later included other conditions which the company found extraneous, such as construction of a wall and clearance of squatters and maintaining the cleared state of land,” the report read in part.
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Following the dispute, the real estate company modified its proposal once more, decreasing the land to be acquired from 337 acres to 87 acres.
The two groups reached an agreement outside of the courtroom, finalizing the sale of 100 acres between EAPC and the company in April 2022.
In the ongoing conflict, the real estate company invalidated the contract for sale made on April 14, 2022, on June 5, 2023, resulting in the matter being returned to court.
“The Committee recommends that EAPC PLC register the consent in court for the cancellation of the sale agreement between EAPC PLC and the real estate company,” it was ordered.
Previously, President William Ruto cautioned wealthy individuals against exploiting State-owned entities through the legal system.
The President had noted that unscrupulous businessmen had perfected the art of dragging court cases for years making it impossible for parastatals to carry out its development agenda.
Parliament Orders Cancellation Sale of 337-Acre Portland Land
