Tatu City exemplifies what is possible in Kenya

Tatu City is a 5,000 Acre mixed-use Special Economic Zone. [File, Standard] I recently visited a friend within Tatu City and was amazed by the beauty, serenity and the organisation that permeates the entire project. The transformation of a former coffee plantation into a world class estate is nothing short of a miracle. The roads are paved, marked and well-lit too. From the gate, the friendly guard, while giving you directions, makes sure he warns you of the 20km/hr speed limit despite their being numerous road signs. It as if he knows of the average Kenyan driver's propensity to assume that road signs are decorative furniture. 20km per hour feels like one crawling, especially on a good road. On an average Kenyan road, speed is regulated by gigantic bumps whose height and width depends on the whims of the fellow given the work of erecting it. In Tatu City, there's not a single bump but drivers keep to the speed limit. Indeed, my friend - the designated driver of the day - had to be regularly reminded of the speed limit whenever his foot became a bit heavy. And ooh, the zebra crossings too - you must stop if there is a pedestrian within a mile. Of course, there is no point of having rules if there are no enforcers. In Tatu City, the enforcers are conspicuous by their presence at every other junction. They move around in motor bikes and well-marked cars hunting for offenders; if you are nabbed, there is no way out apart from paying a fine. No 'tea' or bakhshish for these fellows; none at all. You pay up or your vehicle is impounded. For those living here, they have no idea of power or water outages. Tatu City has its own power and water companies well managed as well as other facilities. Who wouldn't want to live in a place with such law and order? I have followed the project keenly over the years but I had never had the opportunity to go back since I was there for the launch. At the time, it looked like one of those grandiose projects, well intended but would never see light of day. After all, that was at the height of the property boom that saw many property firms embark on failed projects all over the country. Golf courses with pristine fairways and dams scattered all over the place were dreamt up and launched in five-star hotels, with project owners spending more money on the launch than on the actual project. Back street realtors and carpetbaggers moved around looking for cheap land in places such as Laikipia and Kajiado, prepared some nice artist's impression of golden homes, a happy family upfront and their SUV parked in shaded garages, and sold them to wide-eyed Kenyans who saw themselves in the happy family depicted in the sale brochures. Most people fell for the scams and sunk their savings buying what eventually turned to be hot air. Of course the wheels came of property boom and only a few rogues were nabbed. These things can only happen in Kenya. Back to Tatu City. Instead of the county government of Kiambu taking pride in the project, it instead dreams up new ways of frustrating the enterprise because some people would like a piece of this lovely pie. If was I was a Kiambu county government mandarin, I would be showcasing the project as a success story of what a public/partnership can do. I would encourage other governors to visit the project and learn a thing or two on what is possible if you give free rein to private enterprise. Heck, I would even invite neighbouring heads of state (through relevant protocol channels) to come over and see what it means to run a 'mini state'. Hopefully, they can roll out such initiatives back home. Alternatively, they (and even us) can be encouraged to hand over the management of the country to Tatu City. -The writer is a communications consultant

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