Tata Chemicals boycotts Sh17bn rates arbitration

The Ministry of Mining is at a crossroads after multinational soda ash company Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd, which is locked in a row with Kajiado County over land rates, disregarded a court order to settled the dispute through arbitration.

The firm, which is the largest soda ash miner in the region, has boycotted arbitration meetings called by Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes and which are chaired by his Principal Secretary (PS) John Omenge.

The court ordered six -month timeline for resolving the Sh17 billion row that began in 2018 lapsed Tuesday with the multinational having missed the entire summons by writing letters of regret.

The last meeting chaired by the PS Monday, however, proceeded without Tata Chemicals’ representatives after the firm allegedly said executive director Harish Nair was engaged elsewhere.

The ministry was expected to appear before Kajiado High Court Tuesday to give its report on the progress of the arbitration.

Kajiado Lands County Executive member Hamilton Parseina a confirmed the parties will appear before court.

“We have been looking forward for the conclusion of the matter because the County is experiencing huge losses due to a stoppage of collection of rates as directed by the court," he said.

Kajiado had demanded Sh17 billion in land rate dues accrued over the years on a 224,991-acre piece of land controlled by Tata chemicals under lease agreement. It had initially threatened to repossess the land and sub divide it among locals, triggering a chain of reactions that ended in court, forcing Governor Joseph Lenku to retreat.

The company had sued the county government calling for invalidation of the Finance Act that is used to collect land rates from investors. The devolved unit won round one when Justice Reuben Nyakundi declared the county's Finance Act as having been validly enacted.