Lands PS Nicholas Muraguri.[Photo/Nation]
Embakasi Ranching Company directors are asking for charges on shareholders that could total up to a Sh337 million sendoff package.
Government officials mandated with managing the doomed finishing process say the fees from the 15,000 shareholders (initially just over 13,000) include Sh5,000 registration fee as well as Sh20,000 site-visit and titling fees.
This comes after Land principal secretary Nicholas Muraguri gave a directive to the directors to reduce the charges to a flat Sh5,000, which will lead to a sendoff package of just Sh7.5 million.
Dr Muraguri said that the confusion the government desk in charge of the winding-up process is going through is that the ranch is a private company with its bylaws.
He called upon ranch chairman Thuita Mwangi to be sensitive to the plight of the shareholders who have waited since 1978 to fully own their parcels.Dr Muraguri said the President is anxious to issue title-deeds as early as possible after missing the initial February 1 deadline that the ministry had set for the conclusion of the process.
The ranch still has serious operation problems with many complaints about ownership, swapping of plots and double allocations.Dr Muraguri said the government has and will continue to support shareholders “including but not limited to waiving off all titling fees applicable.”
The President has directed that Land ministry services for the shareholders in the winding up process be zero-rated.