Editor's Review

The government has dealt a blow to land owners around the Konza City Technopolis.

The National Government in conjunction with the county governments of Machakos, Makueni, and Kajiado will not issue development permits to landowners around the Konza City Technopolis for the next 90 days.

The Inter-County Joint Physical and Land Use Planning Committee announced on April 13, 2021, that the suspension will cover areas within a 10-Kilometre radius of Konza.

This the committee says will pave way for the development of an Inter-County Physical and Land Use Development Plan which will provide guidelines and standards for regulation of land use practices and general development within the Technopolis.

In a meeting with governors from the three counties, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i stated that there is a need to protect the special zones around Konza City.

“Konza is now evidence of what happens when Government leaders at all levels work together and focus on things that matter. What matters is delivering this project to the people of Kenya,”  Matiang'i stated.

The Interior CS, Governor Kivutha Kibwana, Governor Alfred Mutua, Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, ICT Cabinet Secretary Joseph Mucheru, Lands and Physical Planning CS Farida Karoney resolved to complete the buffer zone plan within three months before the suspension elapses on July 1, 2021.

“The plan will provide basic guidelines and standards for regulation of land use practices and general development while controlling activities for the respective counties bordering the Technopolis. It will also guide developers and property owners on acceptable standards,”  the committee resolved.

They agreed that the three counties in conjunction with the national government come up with a mutually agreed spatial development framework or symbiotic and sustainable co-existence between Konza City Technopolis and the area that lies within their territories.