Hon. Geoffrey Ruku (Mbeere North) has requested for a Statement from the Chairperson, Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning regarding tax incentives claimed by Special Economic Developers, Operators and Enterprises by way of waivers and exemptions.

According to Hon. Ruku only three out of the 35 gazetted zones are public, raising concerns about exploitation.

 "The state of affairs could be pointers to a likelihood of compromised integrity of the Special Economic Zones. This could particularly be exploited by unscrupulous land dealers purportedly selling the land within SEZs without paying taxes and duties to woo unsuspecting Kenyans and investors into economic exploitation without any economic benefits," he said.  

In addition, the Hon. Member questioned the return on investment saying the number of SEZ investors in the country seems to be incommensurate and the SEZ are characterized with low productivity which has made their impact indemonstrable.

He also asked for a status report on the amount of land leased out or sold in each Special Economic Zone, the identities of the purchasers/lessors and whether the said purchasers or lessors have invested in the respective Special Economic Zones.  

"We need details on the exemptions and waiver which have been extended to each Economic Zone developer, operator, and enterprise in respect of corporation tax, withholding taxes, Value Added Tax (VAT), including VAT on imports and Import Duties for each year, since 2015", he added