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    "id": 584630,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/584630/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 249,
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    "content": "They came in after 1902 when Kisumu was transferred from Uganda to Kenya. By that time, Lord Delamere came, several other ranches were declared to be white settlers, white highlands and so many other lands were taken from the former Central Province. In the Coast, the Ten Miles’ Coastal Strip was also taken by the Sultan. These are the ones we are calling injustices. We cannot sit down to watch and read it as history. We need to see it practically. We need to make sure that those tribes who were displaced from their parcels of lands are compensated or they be facilitated to reclaim their parcels of land which were taken by the colonialists. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you will agree with me that movement and land - particularly land - is a factor of production and if it is not considered and harnessed properly to be a factor, then we will not talk about development in any country. That is why harnessing of land is very crucial even in Europe and Asia. That is why the Dutch have to reclaim land from the sea. The same case is happening in Japan, Korea and China. The reason why China is able to feed 1.2 billion people is because of the way they are handling the land issue. Quite a number of my colleague Senators have talked about Chinese Land Reforms. They make sure that land is a factor of production and it is used for production. They produce a lot of rice. In fact, China is the largest producer of rice and not the largest exporter because they consume most of it. In Kenya, we should ask ourselves what we are doing with the land which is available. Is our land used to the optimum? Are we using our land productively or are we not? If we are not, we should ask ourselves why and ensure that if land was meant to be a forest, has it been maintained and remained as a forest? If not, what are we doing as a Government and what is the Senate doing to make sure that happens? If the land was meant to be a ranch or pastoral area for people who, for no reasons, have to move from one place to another looking for pasture and water, particularly the Maasai, Turkana and other tribes, we need to have their land reserved because that is also a factor of production. Without that land being massive, we will not have land available for pastoralism. We need animals just like we need meat. That is the reason why we need to have land reserved for that purpose. In Kenya, the Arab land is 20 per cent of the total area. The 20 per cent land which is available is the one which is supporting 42 million Kenyans. We need to think about our food ratio, food security and how we to make sure that our population is fed. Therefore, we have to consider land that is available, land which was grabbed or being misused because most of the land which we have is the one which was grabbed from some sedentary tribes and it is not being put to use. You will find that we have many absentee landlords and absenteeism is prevalent in the Kenyan coast, some parts of Nyanza and the former Eastern Province. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Motion is asking us to come up with that Commission, and I am happy that it has been given 60 days to come up with clear cut demarcations and beacons, so that we know how to plan. Like in Kirinyaga County – I hope the people of Kirinyaga County are watching me on television and seeing that I am really doing this – we need to know where our boundary is so that we can settle for that because it is our county. Any other county which is recognised in the Constitution should also know her boundaries. That way, we can plan some areas which have water and are The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}