Oysterbay Police land deal raises new concern

Dar es Salaam. Some police officers who are being relocated from Oysterbay police barracks that have been leased for real estate development are protesting the move as a breach of agreement.

The investor has started pulling down houses in one of the country’s biggest police stations and barracks to pave the way for construction of the largest retail chain and other infrastructural projects.

Ugandan billionaire Ashish Thakkar, who has acquired the land for 50 years, will reportedly pay the police force Sh 4 billion annual fee for the use of the land.

The investment proposal binds him to build 350 new housing units for relocated officers and their families at Mikocheni and Kunduchi when construction commences.

About 55 families have been relocated to other places which they claim are sub-standard.

Some officers who spoke on conditions they were not named are furious over the decision to relocate them to places not originally planned for.

The Ugandan investor, through Mara Capital Group, has said he will construct the biggest shopping mall in East Africa, two hotels, a conference centre and a business park.

He will also put up vital infrastructural developments such as a new hospital, a police centre and residential properties for those staffing the various proposed institutions.

Last year, spokesperson of the Home Affairs ministry, Mr Isaac Nantanga, told reporters the developer has included construction of 350 houses for relocated officers in his investment proposal.

“They assured us they will relocate us to new and decent houses but what is going on here is chaos. Some of our colleagues have been relocated to bad houses. The promise to take us to new houses was just a tactic to take the police land,” said one of the officers.

But Mr Nantanga dismissed the claims, saying only 55 families have been shifted to pave the way for construction of a modern police station. About 343 families currently living in the barracks are occupying about 24 hectares.

According to Mr Nantanga, the new station will occupy 2,385 square metres will replaces the current one. It will be a two-storey building with an underground cell.

“We have relocated some officers to get enough space to construct the station. The remaining 288 families will continue to stay at the barracks pending completion of 350 houses at Kunduchi and Mikocheni,” the spokesperson said.

It was initially agreed that the development of the leased area would start in July last year and all officers at the camp would have been relocation by the end of last year.

However, The Citizen on Sunday has established that not a single unit for relocated officers has been built so far.

“The construction of the houses has not started. Designs for the houses have not been completed,” said Mr Nantanga.

The leasing of the prime land in the city has in some instances met criticism from various people who feel it was not a fair deal for the police and the country at large.

Critics say developing the area for a one-stop centre police headquarters and housing would have been more beneficial to the country than leasing it for real estate development. Others say the area was strategically appropriate for police barracks and quick response in terms of insecurity.

But Mr Nantanga says the project will continue as planned as it is part of major reforms undertaken by the police to improve and modernise the force. “This project was chosen because of its great potential in contributing to improved accommodation for the police,” he said.

According to the agreement, the complex will be run by the Mara group for 50 years, after which the operational complex will revert to the hands of the government, according to the investment deal. The investor will pay an annual land use fee of Sh4.36 billion after the commencement of the project.

Money accrued from land use fee will be used for construction of new houses for the police and renovate houses, police said.