Technopolis Bill, 2024

Barrack,

There is no inherent issue with Konza’s current legal setup, but it is very
suboptimal.

First, while Konza was established through a legal notice, these notices
are now facing challenges due to the decade-old staged expiry of statutory
instruments.

Second, only a statute can incorporate substantive provisions essential for
managing a technopolis—such as licensing, development control, and
penalties for violations. A legal notice is limited to constituting a state
corporation. This Bill therefore proposed to create the primary legal
framework for managing technopolises in Kenya, which is currently missing.

Third, the existing Konza Development Authority (KDA) is restricted to
managing the technopolis at Konza, on a specific piece of land with a
designated LR number. If another technopolis were established, for example
in Narok, the interpretation would need to be stretched to treat that area
as part of “Konza” for KDA oversight, which severely limits the potential
for scaling.

This Bill solves that by transforming the KDA into the Technopolis
Development Authority, empowering it to manage technopolises across the
country without geographic limitations. This expansion is essential for
scaling Kenya’s technopolis strategy and opens up opportunities to
establish more technopolises. I’d say, the proposed law is very vital and
long overdue.

Best regards,

On Wed, Oct 2, 2024 at 6:34 AM Barrack Otieno via KICTANet <
[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi Victor,
>
> How different is this from Konza? Could there be a legal issue with the
> way Konza is currently set up?
>
> Best Regards
>
> On Tue, Oct 1, 2024 at 10:59 AM Victor Kapiyo via KICTANet <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Dear listers,
>>
>> The Technopolis Bill 2024 was recently tabled and is coming up for 2nd
>> reading.
>>
>> The objective of this Bill is to provide a comprehensive framework for
>> the establishment of a Technopolis in Kenya and to create the Technopolis
>> Development Authority which will be responsible for the development,
>> governance, planning, management, improvement, and maintenance of every
>> Technopolis established. The establishment of the Technopolis and the role
>> of the Technopolis Development Authority will drive the country towards
>> achieving its economic and development objectives, as outlined in Kenya
>> Vision 2030.
>>
>>
>> See:
>> kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/bills/2024/TheTechnolopisBill_2024.pdf
>>
>>