County to auction property to recover Sh10bn from land rates defaulters

The Mombasa County government has given 21,000 land rate defaulters a seven-day ultimatum to clear debts amounting to Sh10 billion.

Officials warned that if they fail to settle their debts, their property would be auctioned.

In February, the county published a list of defaulters notifying them about their land rate arrears, accumulated penalties and annual rates.

By then, at least 30,000 individuals and entities owed the county Sh11.5 billion.

The notice to defaulters read: “The County government of Mombasa shall initiate recovery through legal proceedings as provided for under section 17 of the Ratings Act CAP 276.”

“The County shall not hesitate to seek orders to repossess all defaulters’ land under leasehold tenure,” it added.

County Secretary Francis Thoya said though the county had published the defaulters' names in February, only 30 per cent of them had cleared their debts.

A majority of those who paid, he added, were defaulters who owed the county between Sh500,000 and Sh2 million.

Mr Thoya warned that when the notice expires next week, the county will seek court orders to repossess the defaulters’ land before auctioning it to recover the debts.

“We have already instructed our private law firms including Robson Harris and Company Advocates to recover the debts from the defaulters,” he warned.

“From May 31, the county will start the process of auctioning the property of those who will not have cleared their debts,” he said.

According to the published list, government departments and corporations, private companies, churches and individuals were among the defaulters.

Among them are Telkom Kenya, which is said to owe Sh490 million; Kenya Railways Corporation (Sh300 million); and the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (Sh249 million).

Others are Kenya Ferry Services (Sh234 million), the Department of Defence (more than Sh100 million) and the National Social Security Fund (Sh112 million).

In an interview with the Nation on Thursday, Mr Thoya called on the government to clear its debts or face legal action.

He said the county would not be facing financial problems if land owners paid rates promptly, adding that the debts could meet the county’s budget of Sh10.9 billion.

With Sh11.5 billion, the county could also purchase 11 new ferries and address the challenges of old ferries at the Likoni channel.

The debt could finance one third of the total cost of building the Dongo Kundu bypass, which is expected to cost Sh30 billion.

This financial year, the county approved a total budget of Sh10.9 billion, with Sh4.2 billion earmarked for workers’ salaries while Sh2.5 billion is for operations and maintenance.

In the budget, Sh4.1 billion was set aside for development.

In the 2014/2015 financial year, the county collected Sh2.2 billion from local revenue sources while it was expected to receive Sh5.7 billion from the national government.

Currently, the county is facing sewage disposal challenges as the Kipevu treatment plant can only treat 40 per cent of the waste it receives from town dwellers.

The county also needs to deal with solid waste and an inadequate water supply since it receives fresh water from Kwale, Taita-Taveta and Kilifi counties.

On top of that, there are land disputes in Likoni, Nyali, Kisauni, Changamwe and Jomvu, with squatters unable to buy private land they occupy from owners.

Mombasa County Commissioner Evans Achoki told the Nation that the government was consulting with the county chiefs to address the land rates stalemate.

Calls to the heads of parastatals were not unanswered.