Cattle on a section of Giriama ranch. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NMG
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A standoff between Giriama Ranching and locals has stalled Al Maktoum’s plan to acquire the land and build a cement factory and a power plant worth Sh6.8 billion.
Al Maktoum director Hamed Khalef told reporters in Mombasa that they had noted integrity issues on the part of the seller following recent protests by locals, adding that the management of the ranch must come clean on the deal.
A Dubai-based firm that wants to buy a 66,000-acre ranch at a cost of Sh13 billion in Ganze, Kilifi County, has given Giriama Ranching Company officials a two-week ultimatum to explain the delay in executing the sale.
Al Maktoum Holdings &Associates said that if the officials fail to do so it would seek legal redress. A standoff between Giriama Ranching and locals has stalled Al Maktoum’s plan to acquire the land and build a cement factory and a power plant worth Sh6.8 billion.
Al Maktoum director Hamed Khalef told reporters in Mombasa that they had noted integrity issues on the part of the seller following recent protests by locals, adding that the management of the ranch must come clean on the deal.
“When we started discussions to buy the ranch in August the directors assured us that the purchase was clean. After information of its sale went public, locals protested fearing that they would lose their land. That is what is now our concern,” said Mr Khalef.
He said that calls to directors of the ranch and his agent, a local politician, had gone unanswered.
“Before going ahead with the sale agreement we told them to give us form CR12 from the Registrar of Companies and a recent search certificate on the land. They have not responded and time is running out. I have consulted my fellow directors in Dubai to seek legal opinion and possibly institute civil proceedings against the directors for causing our company unnecessary losses in the transaction,” he said.
Mr Khalef said the company had spent tens of millions of shillings in consultancy and survey fees. “Among the projects that we shall undertake on the land is the construction of a modern cement factory on 2,500 acres. That investment will cost Sh4.6 billion.
‘‘We have in line other projects like building a Sh2.2 billion wind farm with capacity to produce 108 megawatts,” he said.
The sale of the land has been riddled with controversies. Last week, the Kilifi County government asked the National Land Commission to investigate how the community ranch was converted into private property.
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