Nakumatt wants building of Hazina Towers stopped

Nakumatt Holdings wants the construction of Hazina Trade Centre stopped and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) compelled to pay it Sh1.6 billion as compensation for lost business.

The supermarket chain says the ongoing construction has seen the number of shoppers visiting its Lifestyle branch drop by 37 per cent, causing it huge losses and damages.

The contractor, China Jiang Xi International, has been undertaking the works since December, with the building set to be the tallest structure in the city at 39 floors from the current eight.

Nakumatt has a 20-year lease which began in 2003 and wants the court to block the construction of the Sh6.7 billion tower until after 2023, when its lease expires.

In its defence, the NSSF says that its agreement with Nakumatt allowed for the extension, with no liability to pay compensation for loss of profit resulting from the same.

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CITY PROPERTY OWNERS LIKELY TO PAY HIGHER RATES

Property owners in Nairobi face paying higher rates, with the county looking to change the charging formula from value of undeveloped land only to the value of the land and developments on it.

This will see City Hall develop a graduated rate system that considers the number of floors of properties have.

Currently, property owners pay rates at 34 per cent of the unimproved site value based on the 1980 valuation roll.

The new system proposed in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) will, however, see those who earn more from their properties pay more.

The proposal to review the rates system is one of the ways in which City Hall is looking to widen the tax base as it aims to raise more revenue for development projects.

The proposed changes come one year after City Hall doubled land rates to 34 per cent in the Finance Bill 2013.

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SLUM DWELLERS RELOCATION PROJECT HITS A SNAG

More than 400 people have moved into areas adjacent to the rail corridor in Nairobi in a bid to benefit from a programme to relocate slum dwellers to new, low-cost houses.

The 400, who were not originally included in the project, have complicated the relocation, pushing its implementation to December.

Kenya Railways had planned to move more than 9,000 households living along the railway reserve in Mukuru, Kibera and Kaloleni slums by the end of this month to the low-cost houses built at a cost of Sh7 billion.

KR insists that the new occupants will be evicted, and will not benefit from the scheme.