This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
July 30, 2019, marked a day of reckoning for the Lake Basin Mall in Kisumu, as EAC Secretary Adan Mohamed laid the blame squarely on the Treasury for the mall's woes.
The 360,000 square feet mall, completed in 2016, has struggled to attract tenants, with claims and counter-claims surrounding its development.
According to Mr. Mohamed, the Treasury had withheld vital approvals concerning a Sh2 billion loan, and had not released funds to the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) for two consecutive years.
The LBDA had signed concessionary loan agreements with the Treasury in 2016/2017 for Sh1.5 billion and 2017/2018 for Sh500 million.
Mr. Mohamed told the Senate Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations Committee that the Treasury had not given approval for the LBDA to negotiate with Co-operative Bank to take over the loan, resulting in the loan continuing to accrue interest.
“However, the National Treasury has not given approval to date and in the meantime the loan continues to accrue interest,” Mr. Mohamed said.
