For a period of 90 days, the county governments of Machakos, Makueni, and Kajiado have suspended the issuance of new development permits within a ten-kilometer radius of the Konza Technopolis, dubbed the “Konza Planning Zone.”
The three counties stated in a joint statement that the decision was made to allow a newly formed Inter-County Joint Physical and Land Use Planning Committee to develop an Inter-County Physical and Land Use Development Plan to provide guidelines and standards for regulation of land use practices and general development within the zone.
Hon. Hamilton Parseina, County Executive Committee MemberLands, Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Development, and Municipalities signed the statement.
County Government of Kajiado, Hon. Julius Mulwa Kaloi, County Executive Committee Member, Lands, Urban Development, Environment, and Climate Change County Government of Makueni, and Hon. Evelyne Kavuu Mutie, County Executive Committee Member, Energy, Lands, Housing, and Urban Development County Government of Machakos.
Speaking at a meeting attended by governors from three counties, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Dr. Fred Matiang, stated that governments must collaborate to protect the ecosystem surrounding Konza Technopolis in order to provide value to investors and property owners in the Special Planning Zone.
“Konza is now proof of what happens when government leaders at all levels collaborate and focus on what matters. What matters is that this project is delivered to the people of Kenya,” the CS stated.
Dr. Matiangi convened a meeting attended by the governors Prof. Kivutha Kibwana, Dr. Alfred Mutua, and Mr. Joseph Ole Lenku, as well as Cabinet Secretaries Mr. Joseph Mucheru, Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, and Ms. Farida C. Karoney, Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, to complete the buffer zone plan within the notice period so that development can resume on January 1st.
The plan will establish basic guidelines and standards for regulating land use practices and general development, as well as controlling activities in the counties that border the Technopolis. It will also serve as a guide for developers and property owners in terms of acceptable standards.
Furthermore, in consultation with the national government, the three counties will develop a mutually agreed-upon spatial development framework for symbiotic and sustainable coexistence between the Konza Technopolis and the adjacent areas falling under the jurisdiction of the three counties.
The Committee is made up of the respective County Executive Committee Members in charge of physical and land use planning, two other relevant County Executive Committee Members, co-opted representatives from relevant National Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (including the Konza Technopolis Development Authority), and the Director-General of Physical and Land Use Planning.
The development of the Inter-County Physical and Land Use Development Plan will be largely based on a review of the Approved Development Plan No. 03 (Konza Techno City Buffer Zoning Plan Ref. No. 2564/2013/01) and will be done in a highly participatory and consultative manner.
The committee was formed in accordance with Section 29 of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act of 2019. The physical planning and development control of buffer zones will be included in the work of the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee (NDICCC ).
