Lenku: Why we slapped soda ash miner with Sh11.4bn bill 

Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku

Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku. The County Government of Kajiado has revealed how it slapped a Lake Magadi miner with a Sh11.4 billion rates arrears bill.

Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho | Nation Media Group

The County Government of Kajiado has revealed how it slapped a Lake Magadi miner with a Sh11.4 billion rates arrears bill.

The arrears have been at the centre of a protracted tax battle between the devolved unit and Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd, whose majority shareholder is an Indian investor.

The company is the sole miner of soda ash in Lake Magadi and is one of the biggest exporters of the commodity in Africa and Asia.

The investor has decried the exorbitant bill, saying the devolved unit is charging rates way beyond their income.
However, the county government has now broken down the bill since 2016.
In a statement signed by Ms Vera Moraa, the director-general of revenue, the county is demanding Sh2.5 billion per year for the 179,374 acres at Sh14,000 per acre.

The Sh14,000 rate is as per the Finance Act from 2016-2019.
The 179,374 acres is the area rateable by the county government after the High Court excluded the 45,617 acres the investor occupies which fall under the lake and the railway reserve from Magadi to Kajiado. This means that between 2016 and 2020, the investor owed Sh10,044,944,000.

Between 2020 and 2023, the devolved unit reviewed the land rates downwards to Sh2,000 per acre following a public participation exercise.

For each of the four years, the 179,374 acres attracted Sh358,748,000 annually, totalling Sh1,434,992,000.
Governor Joseph ole Lenku maintains he will not deal with the investor on any matter, including renewal of its land lease until they clear the arrears.

The devolved unit, through County Secretary Francis Sakuda, recently declined to renew the firm’s land lease in Kajiado town, citing the failure of the investor to fulfil its tax obligations.
Earlier, the company’s directors, Mr Subodh Srivastav and Mr Titus Naikuni had said the land rates dispute was still under negotiations following a court ruling.
However,  Mr Lenku accused the investor of bad faith in the negotiations spearheaded by the Petroleum and Mining ministry.