Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1048705,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1048705/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 43,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": "You find that what would have been available to the public for purposes of development and growth, had already been grabbed by speculators. Therefore, as we address things like the debt issue and the question of taxation, we must look at some of the assets that are being wasted by the Government and the public institutions by giving away public land and then using it for purposes of speculation. For example, this particular piece of land that Sen. (Dr.) Mbito is talking about was land that was given to a very good school, with a large campus, developed during the colonial period. Those are the kind of schools that can grow into even bigger institutions. There are institutions that are comparable, like Nairobi Primary School. It is comparable to Kitale Primary School. Then, you have a developer who should have protected the interests of that school, taking that land for nothing and using it for purposes of speculation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I hope that as we address this question in relation to the Petition, we keep at the back of our minds the question of land use and the illegal grabbing of public land. Even in the United States of America, where private ownership is valued, a lot of that land belongs to the Federal Government and the State. That is why it is easy for them to build schools and colleges. Mr. Speaker, Sir, do you know there was a time when the Kenya Police Force wanted a little piece of land to build stables for the horses they use for crowd control? The land was not available; they could not even get an acre. If one goes to London and many other countries where we think land is unavailable, there are horses. For public purposes, they would find land even for such things. I hope that in the fullness of time and as we consider this Petition, we would be able to address this larger question that keeps on making Kenya not get close to what its peers are getting to in terms of development because of this asset called land."
}