Government to Compensate Dongo Kundu Residents
Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry Salim Mvurya has asserted that the planned government compensation for Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in Dongo Kundu will kick off this week with 400 acres of land earmarked for the resettlement process.
Speaking today in Nairobi, the CS highlighted that over 1,600 people affected by the DongoKundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mombasa and Kwale counties will be considered in the compensation process spearheaded by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
“KPA has around Sh1.4 billion for the compensation process. We expect everyone will addressed accordingly as the process is set to begin immediately, ” he said.
Mvurya also directed SEZA to gazette the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (LAPSSET) SEZ with ready investors in desalination, fish processing and pharmaceutical sectors expressing interest. In addition, 60 per cent of the investors are local while 40 per cent international investors.
The CS reiterated that investors who fail to set up their operations within six months of receiving their licences will face revocation of those licences.
He stressed that Special Economic Zones Authority to enforce this mandate, noting that investors must report to their designated sites.
“We are giving every investor six months to report to the ground. Failure to adhere to the directive will see their licences revoked henceforth, ” he averred.
Nineteen companies have expressed interest in setting operations at the Naivasha Special Economic Zone, with 11 of the already cleared and awarded licences.
“Investors in SEZs will greatly play a key role in employing the young people of Kenya. An investor in Naivasha in the potato value chain addition has directly employed 359 Kenyans, ” he added.
The CS urged investors to take advantage of the government’s incentives which are geared to ease the process of doing business in the country.
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