Konza is a small Kenyan town in Machakos District (County) approximately 160 kilometres from the green city in the sun, Nairobi. Under the old constitution, Konza was in Kitumwa Location of Central Division of Machakos District. Prior to last year, no one quite trained their attention on Konza and neither did it seek anyone’s attention. All this has changed.
Thanks to an inspirational advert on tv and mentions of Konza in numerous ICT discussions and Vision 2030 promotional campaigns Konza has found a new sense of fame, of celebrity even. The planned Konza Technology City is the reason for this. According to its website, www.konzacity.co.ke Konza is going to be the location of “Africa’s Silicon Savanna” a phrase coined from the Californian Silicon Valley, home of technological innovations that have transformed the world. From Silicon Valley came the Integrated Circuit, the basis on which all computer processors are based and the early 2000’s Internet bubble thsat revolutionized how people communicated. Is this what we hope to achieve through Konza City?
Konza City is to be the region hub of technological innovation and invention but it is also poised to be a futuristic city with complete transport and communication integration, a university, a BPO Techno Park, a Science Park and still have large open spaces and living areas and family recreation areas.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The building and development of the town is going to cost anywhere between Ksh. 800 Billion and 1.2 trillion. This is almost the entire national budget. Gladly, the government’s main contribution to the project is the land. The infrastructure is to be put in place by private investors such as you and me.
Before all these beautiful plans are implemented I’m curious as to how the current land owners, the families and communities that have been living on the land for decades, are going to be compensated. Are they going to be resettled or are they going to be paid or both?
Till then Konza City remains a beautiful dream and Konza a small town in Ukambani.