Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 35201,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/35201/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 216,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Oburu",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministry of Finance",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 194,
        "legal_name": "Oburu Ngona Odinga",
        "slug": "oburu-odinga"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, on 20th July 2011, the Member for Rangwe, Mr. Martin Ogindo, sought a Ministerial Statement from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance on the buyers and sellers of the Grand Regency Hotel. In particular, he wanted to know:- (a) Who were the buyers and sellers of the Grand Regency Hotel and if it was an entity, who the beneficial owners of those entities were. (b)What disposal procedures were used in the process. (c)How much the sale proceeds were, where the money is and how much interest it had earned as at 30th June 2011. (d) If the money has been spent, where it has been spent and if not, where he intends to spend it. Mr. Speaker, Sir, according to records held at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the Grand Regency Hotel was sold by the CBK to the Libyan Government through its investment arm in the region, the Libyan African Investment Company Limited, whose directors at the time of sale were listed as Mauwal Mohammed Shtewi and Amaer Ahmed, both Libyan nationals. The CBK was not aware of any beneficial owners of the company apart from the Libyan Government. Under the auspices of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), a settlement was recorded by the parties that led to the handing over of the hotel business to the CBK. The CBK subsequently sold the hotel by private treaty and pursuant to its statutory powers of sale under the charge instrument held as security. The hotel was sold by private treaty as previous attempts by the bank to dispose of the same were frustrated by the registered owners resulting in protracted litigation. The sale proceeds amounted to Kshs3, 141,000,000 or Kshs3.1 billion held by the CBK on behalf of the Government. The funds were not invested and so do not earn any interest. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the proceeds from the sale of the hotel were earmarked by the Government for the construction of Lamu Port, specifically for dredging and infrastructural development of the harbor. I wish to emphasize the fact that the Grand Regency Hotel was not a Government hotel. The land and building housing the hotel was held by the CBK as collateral against a loan granted to Exchange Bank which went into liquidation in the early 1990s. It should, therefore, be clearly underscored that the sale of the hotel by the CBK was not a privatization exercise. Thank you."
}