State agency lauds Tatu City special economic zone for one-stop facility

Lifestyle Homes Apartments at Kijani Ridge at Tatu City a 5,000 Acre mixed use Special Economic Zone. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The board of directors of the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) has lauded the efforts by Tatu City to set up a 'one-stop shop' for government services at the mixed-use development.

The facility aims to coordinate the activities of various government entities and private service providers for applications for permits, approvals, and licences within the economic zone.

The board, led by Chief Executive Meshack Kimeu commended Tatu City as the country’s first operational SEZ, which aims to catalyse investment worth billions of shillings from local and international investors.

“The Tatu City one-stop shop is intended to be a primary way in which the SEZs benefit both the nation and businesses by complementing tax incentives, thus improving the ease of doing business,” said Dr Kimeu.

“As a result, one-stop shops are critical to the main value an SEZ offers from a public policy perspective. They are opportunities for innovation in governance."

Tatu City SEZ is currently home to more than 60 businesses, homes and two schools – Crawford International and Nova Pioneer – which educate more than 3,000 students daily.

A private sector SEZ pioneer in Kenya, Tatu City recently partnered with Konza Technopolis, a public SEZ, to establish the Association of Special Economic Zones of Kenya, which aims to further economic zone development.

Established in 2015 by the Special Economic Zones Act No. 16 of 2015, SEZA’s core objectives are to provide for the establishment of SEZs in Kenya. It is also mandated to create an enabling environment for investments.

Some of the incentives for SEZ enterprises include reduced 10 per cent corporate tax for 10 years - and 15 per cent for the subsequent 10 years - import duty exemptions and zero-rated value-added tax.