Residents at a Nairobi suburb opposed to City Council collection of rates

Nairobi settlement

Dagoretti

By Nellie Wanjiku

The drive by the City Council of Nairobi (CCN) to collect land rates from property owners in Nairobi has been opposed by residents of Dagoretti constituency.
The residents led by Kangari Gaciku on Friday, August 03 told off the City Council of Nairobi to keep off Dagoretti constituency saying the land does not belong to it and that they are not served by the council by choice.
They said the notice by the CCN has created panic in Dagoretti division because it is part of Kiambu district and titles can confirm that.
The residents made the sentiments during a public meeting at Ndurarua grounds to discuss the issue and to level and upgrade the Sports Ground to make it user friendly for sporting activities.
Gaciku asked why the CCN is in hurry to collect land rates at this time during the election year yet the same can be still handled by the incoming County Governments.
They said Dagoretti is a rural constituency that is not affected by the operations of the Council and should be treated as such
She also asked whether CCN has put any avenues for arbitration or could the whole exercise be another scheme to defraud Kenyans off their legally owned properties.
The residents said the notice should be shelved for the time being and that they are ready to and willing to cooperate with the county government.
Gaciku who is eyeing the area parliamentary seat in 2013 General election said a friendly notice should be issued to avert panic and massive cross neighbors shifting and that the
The council has embarked on an ambitious campaign to collect land rates which it says run into billions of shillings and which have remained unpaid for many years.
Critics are however querying the timing and wondering why the Council was in a hurry to collect the money during an election year while it has been keeping a blind eye all the years.