Mutua’s inspiring dream and the nagging questions

By FRANCIS AYIEKO— fayieko@standardmedia.co.ke

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua is a man with fire in his belly. In just about eight months since his election, Dr Mutua has put the semi-arid county on the path to becoming a world-class metropolis.

Last week, he launched an ambitious city plan featuring investments like an amphitheater, a recreational park, a Formula One racing track, housing complexes, and music and film studios.

Just the other day, the county launched the Machakos Entertainment Centre for Film, Music, Media and the Arts, commonly referred to as Machawood. The setting up of the film and music studios, which are expected to be on 50 acres, has started.

Mutua says the modern metropolis, to be set up on 2,200 acres some three kilometers from Machakos town, would be fully functional in about 18 months.

By any standard, these are very ambitious targets. But if he succeeds in his plans, he will be a testimony of what counties can do in transforming the country.

At the beginning of this year, with what was expected to be a watershed General Election barely three months away, questions were being asked about what was in store for Kenya’s real estate market in 2013, a year that had been described by many as a “make-or-break” for the country.

Uncertainty

Some analysts pointed out that the election-related uncertainty might slightly slow down the property sector in the first quarter of the year — just like might happen to other sectors — “as investors ‘hold off’ and instead adopt a wait-and-see attitude”.

However, what was not in dispute was the fact that no matter how the elections went, 2013 seemed to hold great promises for the property sector in the country.

A major reason for this confidence was the expected introduction of the county system of government, otherwise known as devolution, after the March 4 General Election. The 47 counties established after the elections, coupled with smaller towns, are now expected to be major engines of economic growth, attracting key investments.

This is becoming a reality as counties outdo one another in holding investment forums targeting local and foreign investors. Machakos, a trailblazer in creating a “working county”, has already shown that real estate is going to be a major beneficiary in the devolved system.

With the construction of a recreational park and an amphitheatre expected to be completed before Jamhuri Day next month, the future of Machakos city is definitely taking shape. This is a major boost for players in the property industry who have been following the introduction of the county system of government with keen interest.

Several developers have “decentralised” their offices to the counties as they angle for possible construction tenders and other great opportunities and economic growth brought about by the counties.

Mutua’s “fire in the belly” approach is commendable, but it also needs prudence. He should make sure he gets everything right as he soldiers on with transforming Machakos.

Caution

One issue he needs to be careful about is the free land he is giving out to investors as an incentive. Mutua says he is following in the footsteps of “great new economies” like Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia that have spearheaded their developments by using land as an incentive. I find that hard to swallow given no investor has ever said they can’t raise money to buy land. Why not subsidise instead?

Critics, including Machakos Senator Johnston Muthama, have already questioned the logic behind the governor’s move to dish out more than 2,200 acres of land for free.  I am also still not sure how this sits with the role of the National Land Commission as the sole custodians of national and county land. I am curious to know why Mutua chose to start building a new city from scratch, instead of developing Machakos town, which has stagnated for decades due to neglect.

It would also be important for him to learn a thing or two from the ‘failures’ of the grand Konza Techno City launched early this year, and the wrangle-ridden Tatu City.