Sh6bn Buxton project rises as 2022 politics threatens to derail it

The Sh6 billion Buxton housing project is rising after months of push and pull that delayed it.

The first phase of the units, being built in blocks, is on its second floor as the contractor races against time to finish them by May next year.

The project broke ground in May this year but construction was delayed by a court case filed by tenants of the former Buxton Estate.

And when the court gave the green light for the project to start, the Senate Committee on Roads and Transport halted it and directed Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho to provide clarifications on complaints raised by residents.

The residents, through Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki, complained that their views were not sought and that the process that led to the signing of a deal between the county and Buxton Point Apartments was not transparent.

Mombasa businessman Suleiman Shahbal is banking on the project to boost his bid for the county’s top seat.

Mr Shahbal, whose company is building the apartments, has defended it and asked politicians not to delay it through cheap politics.

On Monday, the businessman told off opponents of the project, saying that their interest was to frustrate his gubernatorial bid.

Mr Shahbal faulted Mr Faki for inviting the Senate to investigate the project though the senator was present during the public participation process.

“The Senate asked questions, they got answers, so the project is on course,” he said.

The Senate, he said, was being incited by Mombasa politicians who oppose his ambitions to succeed Mr Joho.

“This project started in 2015. It was approved by the county assembly and, therefore, it is surprising that questions are being raised now,” he said.

Mr Faki is among Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) politicians backing Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir to succeed Mr Joho on an ODM ticket

Mr Shahbal will battle it out with Mr Nassir, Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo, former senator Hassan Omar, and Deputy Governor William Kingi.

But the businessman is keen to have the first phase of the project completed by May next year to boost his bid for the county's top seat.

The Buxton apartments are among the mega projects that the government is undertaking across the country. The houses are to be sold to the general public under the affordable housing government scheme.

The project is expected to reduce the cost of construction of houses, because once completed, more people would have been transformed from tenants to homeowners while also bridging the housing deficit in Kenya.

It includes 600 one-bedroom, 700 two-bedroom, and 600 three-bedroom units on 14 acres.

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