Urithi Housing Cooperative Society Limited has begun its recovery plan with the issuance of 86 title deeds to members of its flagship Panorama Gardens gated community project located in Thika.

This is one among numerous activities that have been lined up to revive stalled projects in the once renowned real estate firm.

The 86 title deeds are part of 200 that are currently being processed by the society through the Ministry of Lands.

Urithi chairman Samuel Maina spoke to investors during the handover ceremony on Saturday. 

“These are part of the about 540 parcels on the serene, 104-acre land located along Gatanga Road, 6km from Blue Post Hotel next to Bahati Ridges and Golden Pearl Estate,” he said.

The issuance of title deeds follows a collaboration between the members of the project, the Cooperative Society and Family Bank after the bank threatened to auction the land in 2019 over a Sh315 million debt.  The mother title for the land was the security on the loan facility.  

Maina said the exercise was a culmination of a lot of hard work. “We want to assure our members that Urithi is coming back in a big way. We have already resuscitated many of our stalled projects.  We have every intention of reviving all our stalled projects so that in the next few years, we will be bigger and better company,” he said.

Members of the buyers’ welfare association named Panorama Gardens Residents Residents Association (PGRA) formed by a section of investors who have been working to pay off the negotiated top-up fees to save their plots from auction, were a happy lot. “This is a day of triumph, fulfillment and most importantly, a day of collective achievement. We gather here not as individuals but as a community that has weathered storms, crossed deserts, and climbed mountains. And now, we stand on the pinnacle of success, holding in our hands not just titles but tangible proof of our resilience, unity, and vision,” said Hilary Maingi Mbute, the Chairman of the association.

Quoting Winston Churchill, Mbute said; “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” We have come a long way, but the journey is far from over. Let’s continue to work together, ask questions, and support the process. Let’s remain united in our quest for a better tomorrow”.

Maina said in the last two years, Urithi has revived and completed nearly 40 projects from the Covid-19 crisis up to date. Another 36 projects are set to be completed in the next one year. “It has been a journey well fought and a good ending. We want to thank those who have supported us; our customers, lawyers, service providers.

The chairman regretted that before the financial crisis, they used to work on too many projects at the same time, which required too much human and financial resources, so the Society was thinly spread on the ground. “We decided to be biting small; we reduced staff and are now concentrating resources on a few projects at a time.  This time, we have scaled down our operations so that we can focus on just a few projects at a time to ensure that they are well and speedily completed,” he added.    

The housing society has been battling negative publicity that befell the organization beginning 2019 when financial problems set in and creditors, including banks, started hovering over its estimated Sh6 billion worth of assets. Once a formidable force in the real estate sector, Urithi started facing financial woes that culminated into a meeting with the project investors in April 2019.

Urithi was among the worst hit after the Covid pandemic, with investors withholding monthly contributions and members of the cooperative demanding refunds or the fulfillment of their investments. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 worsened the situation, with a series of lockdowns and curfews strangling all economic activities and bringing the Kenyan economy to a halt.

As the real estate sector came to a standstill in 2020, the High Court authorized Family Bank to auction the 104 acres piece of land owned by the cooperative to recover Sh315.1 million owed to it by the housing cooperative.

All this could now be water under the bridge. According to Hilary Mbute, the matter was eventually negotiated out of court and the Society is now working to revive its projects. “We have been in discussions with Family Bank – to sort the dispute with the members over the matter, the mother title has been subdivided into individual titles and began transfers to members’ names. Today, we are not just celebrating partial discharge; we are celebrating the beginning of full ownership. And while I may not have my title today due to delays from the registry office, the joy of handing out 86 titles to you, our esteemed members, is immeasurable,” he said.

Mbute said when they moved the money to Family Bank’s lawyer’s account, they faced suspicion and doubt. “We were questioned, criticized, and even insulted for our collaboration with Urithi. There were moments of internal strife, moments when key committee members exited, setting us back. But we did not waver; we did not relent. We found strength in adversity, and we found allies in each other,” he added.

Maina said Panorama Gardens project has been a labour of love, a vision embarked upon together with buyers to create a remarkable gated community. “Along the way, we encountered unexpected challenges and unforeseen hurdles that extended the timeline and, regrettably, required additional contributions from our valued members. Your willingness to stand by us, both in spirit and in action, has been nothing short of remarkable,” he told the investors.

Last year, Maina reported that Family Bank had granted Urithi Housing their request for a partial discharge on the Panorama project which has more than 500 plots. “Panorama was one of the projects giving us problems, but we have reached an agreement between the members, the bank and my office. Panorama members will now be allowed to discharge their plots from the bank, a major breakthrough in the revival journey of Urithi …those who have finalised their payments will get their plots back,”.

Family Bank, through their representatives at the event, also offered to assist any members who needed a facility to complete payments for their parcels as well as those with title deeds and wish to develop their newly-owned properties and urged them to visit any of their nearly 100 branches across the country for individual appraisal of their loan requests. The treasurer of Anchor Premier Sacco also extended the Sacco’s loan facilities to members who wish to develop their land parcels.

“The court cases and injunctions have been withdrawn. Other members of various projects will soon be called into separate meetings to get an update and adopt the same member operated model on their projects,” he said.

Thanking the bank and investors in the project, Maina said the Society will soon reach out to all the investors of other projects. “We have applied the model to some of our housing projects e.g. Utange houses in Mombasa, Juja Plains Annex, Rongai and others and members are now occupying their homes in some of these projects,” he said. 

“Those whose projects have not resumed, we are calling for the patience. There is the will, support and assurance from my office; I am confident that those who invested in Urithi will get the benefits of the projects that they invested in,” he added.

 ENDS…………../

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