A Sh5 billion government-led project to redevelop houses at Pangani estate, Nairobi, on October 8, 2023.
The saga surrounding the Nairobi County Affordable Housing Projects has taken another twist as the Nairobi County Assembly seeks answers from the National Bank following the approval of a Sh1.9 billion loan without their consent.
In a letter, the County Clerk Edward Gichana asked the Managing Director of the National Bank to stop all transactions related to the title deed for Jevanjee Estate, which is at the centre of a controversy.
“That the National Bank of Kenya Limited stops any further transactions on the said title deed related to the Jevanjee project until the committee concludes its investigations and tables reports,” the letter reads in part.
This follows revelations by the Nairobi County Assembly Departmental Planning Committee that Jabavu Village Limited, the development partner in the project, used the title deed as security to acquire a Sh1.9 billion loan.
The bank's managing director has also been asked to appear before the same committee on November 16 to present a written report on whether the Nairobi City County title deed for the Jevanjee Affordable Housing Project was used to secure a loan, and for what purpose.
“Avail copies of all relevant documents that the bank relied on in order to approve the loan in relation to the said projects, and avail all documents that the bank processed in order to advance the loan with respect to the said project,” Mr Gichana said.
The bank is also expected to explain the criteria and circumstances under which the title deed was used to secure a loan from the bank.
Planning Committee chairperson Alvin Palapala and Minority Leader Anthony Kiragu Karanja confirmed to Nation.Africa that they served the letter to the National Bank and that they expect the bank to comply.
“I personally took the letter to the bank, with the minority leader, and they received it,” Mr Palapala told Nation.Africa in a phone call.
On Wednesday during the committee’s sitting, the committee expressed its disappointment on how the committee's agenda had been short-changed on Tuesday night to exclude the Jevanjee and Pangani affordable housing projects.
One of the assembly's senior clerks was questioned by the committee to explain who was trying to hijack the meetings by interfering with their plans.
The committee was supposed to sit on Wednesday to deliberate on the Jevanjee and Pangani projects, where the development partner as well as the Chief Executive Officer Member for Urban Planning Patrick Mbogo, and the County Chief Officer in charge of affordable housing Lydia Mathia were supposed to appear.
To their dismay, the committee members were informed that the guests who were expected to appear were not invited because the matters which were being handled were not related to them, and instead, they had been scheduled to appear on November 6.
The senior clerk was forced to apologise before the committee members and admitted that indeed the meeting was held on Tuesday evening.
The Planning committee chairperson expressed his disappointment with the clerk, saying that the chairperson has the final say when it comes to the committees.
While expressing the need for the County Assembly to be fully involved when it comes to the affordable goosing project, Minority Leader joined by his deputy Waithera Chege said that there were plans to divert the issue of missing title deed which had initially been associated with the former Governor Mike Sonko.
“This is against the urban renewal policy and against the law because our courts passed the law which says that you do not charge county property for money. They did not show up this morning in the committee and there is information that they are colluding to paralyse this committee from playing its oversight role,” Mr Karanja said.
The members of the committee also alleged that over Sh400 million had been withdrawn by the developer and that there were arrangements to withdraw another Sh500 million this week yet the Jevanjee project has stalled for more than one year.
Governor Johnson Sakaja’s team has also been summoned to appear at the November 16 meeting to shed light on the affordable housing projects as a section of committee members claimed that the governor was attempting to sabotage the proceedings of the Assembly.
