Residents of Kajiado County, led by County Members of Assembly took to the streets to protest against proposed land rates for freehold land. The proposed rates, which are anchored in the County’s Finance Act, 2023, and the County’s Rating Act, 2016 have sparked outrage among landowners who argue that the proposals and the attempt to impose these rates are unfair and unaffordable.
The landowners later presented a petition in court, challenging the legality of the Finance Act. Key concerns in the petition include the unfair nature of the proposals to impose land rates on freehold land and the questionable process through which the Act was passed into law. The residents hinted at low public participation, during the law making process.
Meanwhile the Members of County Assembly (MCAs) from Kajiado County denied having passed the land rates proposals on freehold land. While speaking to reporters from KTN news, the MCAs stated that they had rejected the proposals as they do not represent the interests of those who elected them. They wondered how the proposals ended up in the final draft of the law, despite the county lawmakers rejecting them.
The protesters further argue that the land rates are discriminatory, as they disproportionately affect he elderly, low income land owners and those who own large tracts of land.
According to the Eighth Schedule contained in the contentious Finance Act, 2023, land rates on Freehold land range from Kshs 1,000 to 5,000 per year, per 0.05 Ha of land (equivalent to an 1/8 acre of 50 by 100 plot). Commercial Freehold land in some of the most developed parts of Kajiado will attract the highest charge at Kshs 5,000.
The MCAs argued that the rates are unreasonable for people owning multiple acres of land. Imposing these land rates is seen as an attempt to repossess residents’ land as many will be unable to pay.
In response to the protests, as reported by the Daily Nation, the Kajiado County Executive Committee (CEC) for Finance and Economic Planning urged landowners to pay up their land rates or risk restrictions on transacting with their properties. The executive also expressed concerns over the accruing land rates defaults in the county.
The county government has maintained that land rates are necessary to generate revenue for the county government, which can be used to provide essential services to the residents. Kajiado County has been embroilled in a bitter war, between the county government and Tata Chemicals over land rates. Earlier in the year, the company’s operations were halted after Kajiado County won a court case that upheld its right to collect land rates. The accrued rates owed to the county by Tata Chemicals are over Kshs 10 billion.
The National Government has also been pushing county governments to upscale revenue generation efforts locally. The pressure from the National Government has pushed county governments, especially those within the metropolitan to implement laws that increase land rates collection while imposing punitive measures on land owners to discourage defaulting.
Kiambu County also experienced protests earlier in the year, over freehold land rates. Meanwhile, Nairobi County revised its rules, when it comes to dealing with land rates’ defaulters. Stringent measures, such as as placing cautions on defaulter’s titles and auctioning them are to be enforced starting mid 2024.
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