The Anchor (Online Edition)

Malili City: ICT hub offers great

break for Machakos and Makueni

INVESTORS have defied all odds and staked their claims on the land surrounding the proposed Malili Technopolis.

The result has been a worried government, sending the Permanent Secretary for Local Government Prof Karega Mutahi sending an order to Local Authorities within the Malili Corridor to act and halt the prospect of a new slum city alongside the Technopolis.

Karega’s concern is not misplaced as all sorts of structures are sprouting in the area as investors strategize to reap from the benefits the new city will bring.

Out of nowhere, businessmen and prospectors have bought land and build less than ordinary structures below the level of those built in Nairobi in 1900.

They are following the sketchy designs used by the defunct Malili Ranch. Ranch leaders of the time surveyed and subdivided plots, some of which were stolen, leading to the reality that one of the old officials of the ranch owns over 100 of them along the Mombasa-Nairobi Road. The survey visualized a settlement environment for peasant farmers and not urban settlement- which is what Malili is emerging to become.

Investigations by The Anchor show that what is happening there is solely what investors decide. There are no plans by the Physical Planning Department of the Ministry of Lands or from the County Council of Makueni.

What happens here is that investors are constructing all sorts of structures- from dwelling houses, lodgings, bars and rental houses in a scramble to cash in on the construction of the Technopolis. The result is the panic that sends Prof Mutahi sending a letter to the Makueni, Machakos and Mavoko councils, demanding the enactment of by-laws to control the marauding investors.

Karega’s order comes as the councils exist within the highest levels ever of uncertainty. None of the civic leaders within the councils have sworn allegiance to the new constitution because the fate of Cap 265 that governs Kenya’s 175 Local Authorities remains doubtful within the new constitutional dispensation.

Even then the professor’s letter must awaken local leaders on the concerns that Malili City is likely to trigger in both Makueni and Machakos Counties in coming days.

Given the location of the pro-posed city- right at the edge of Makueni County- it is Machakos County that is best placed to benefit largely out of the development  of the ICT hub. Its proximity to Kyumbi and Machakos towns and the largely unsettled plains along the Nairobi Mombasa road leading to Nairobi opens great opportunities to Machakos County, enhancing the dormitory town status of Athi- River and Machakos.

Clearly, Malili City will open the greatest opportunity ever for Machakos develop a robust and lucrative housing policy as a strategy to speedy development.

Situated 60 km outside of Nairobi, Malili will be the site of Kenya’s first smart city, a city built for technology firms that will propel Kenya into the global ICT arena.

The Kenyan equivalent of Silicon Valley, the Malili Technopolis is a technology business park project developed under the Ministry of Information and Communication aimed at transforming the Kenyan economy using IT-enabled services (ITES) by the year 2030.

The technopolis will host a BPO park, a financial district, a science park, a world-class convention center, a mega mall and several hotels. It will also have schools, hospitals and other recreational facilities, plus a high-speed train link to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport that will take just 11 minutes.

Minister Poghisio said: “This development leverages Kenya’s unique status as a cultural, political, economic and transportation hub for Eastern Africa to lead the region in joining the Global Information Economy.”

Around the world, technology parks have become the norm for research-industry interactions and for stimulating growth of technologically intensive, knowledge-based businesses. They also facilitate links between research and industrial communities, often working with local businesses and scientific faculties of universities.

The Kenyan government is committed to building modern, off-site infrastructure and a techno village, with high quality housing, infrastructure and public services, health and education, transport links and commercial space.

It will be structuring innovative PPP trans-action models to share risk and return between the public and private sector developers, with public underwriting in the initial years.

Growth within the smart city will be driven by BPO, software development, data centers, disaster recovery centers, call centers and light assembly manufacturing.

Minister Poghisio explained how Kenya will provide a favorable environment for investors keen to be involved in the scheme. “A comprehensive set of incentives is being designed and implemented to improve the attractiveness of Kenya as a BPO destination. This will include tailored incentive packages for target companies,” he said.

The government is also endeavoring to improve the business environment, including the ease of obtaining licenses, filing tax returns and obtaining economic justice to lower transaction costs. A “one-stop shop” for all investor needs (licensing and recruiting) will be housed within the technology park. The Minister said: “The park will link and provide infrastructure support to small and medium enterprises, and educational and research institutions.

“Information technology export-oriented businesses are also expected to benefit from the park through tax incentives from the government. In order to attract private participation, we are likely to offer concessions on land to those willing to construct IT offices there and some tax incentives on utility services such as water and electricity.”