The clamping of buildings is expected to move outside the Nairobi central business district. PHOTO | FILE
By KIARIE NJOROGE, gkiarie@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- City Hall officials on Monday descended on seven buildings, put up banners and asked tenants to pay their monthly rent directly to the county to offset amounts owed by their landlords.
- City Hall is giving the tenants a 25 per cent discount on rent as it looks to encourage landlords, who stand to lose out on rental income, to pay the amounts owed.
- The clamping of buildings is expected to move outside the CBD and will go on till April as governor Evans Kidero’s looks to recover a sizeable amount from rates defaulters.
Dozens of traders in Nairobi’s central business
district were Monday forced to temporarily close their businesses as
City Hall moved in against building owners who have defaulted to pay
annual land rates.
City Hall officials descended on seven buildings, put up
banners and asked tenants to pay their monthly rent directly to the
county to offset amounts owed by their landlords.
Businesses were shut for more than half an hour as the tenants were assembled to be informed of the new directive.
“We are not parties to the conflict and we don’t
have any rent arrears, so why should our businesses be affected?”
complained John Kioko of Hantech Services, a stationery shop.
He added that City Hall should find a better way of enforcing collection of rates arrears rather than disrupting businesses.
Tahmeed Coaches workers continued to book
travellers outside their premises as they awaited re-opening of their
doors. The company’s booking office is in Zahra House, whose owner,
Isaac Kuria, allegedly owes City Hall Sh366,000 in rates arrears.
Among the buildings affected are Embassy Cinema
that hosts the Maximum Miracle Centre and two adjoining buildings owned
by Nairobi Theatres Ltd, with the three owing Sh1.5 million in land
rates.
“All tenants of these three buildings whose
landlord has failed to pay land rates are from today required to pay
their rent to City Hall. Failure to do so will see their businesses
shut,” announced Fidelis Mwanza, a City Hall communications officer.
At the Nyota Hotel, an eatery on Latema Road, the
manager was forced to close the doors even as patrons continued eating
inside until he paid the February rent to City Hall.
The building had been clamped in December last year
but despite producing a receipt showing he had paid January’s rent to
the county, the manager was asked to pay February’s rent before
re-opening.
Other tenants affected include Pastries Emporium, Mololine Shuttle and Chicken Grill, located at the Embassy Cinema building.
City Hall is giving the tenants a 25 per cent
discount on rent as it looks to encourage landlords, who stand to lose
out on rental income, to pay the amounts owed.
The clamping of buildings is expected to move
outside the CBD and will go on till April as governor Evans Kidero’s
looks to recover a sizeable amount from rates defaulters.
Finance executive Gregory Mwakanongo said they
could take the drastic measure of auctioning properties of those who
have failed to pay up despite repeated notifications.
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