Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1183522,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1183522/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 184,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Rural, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. David Mwalika",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Speaker, people own land for different reasons. Some own land for farming while others own it for its value and prestige where you hear someone saying that they have 1,000 or 5,000 acres of land although they do not use it. When our Cabinet Secretaries were being vetted, some of them said that they were worth Ksh700 million or Ksh1 billion. Most of that net worth they were talking about is in terms of land. Others own land for speculation. You buy land so that when it appreciates, you sell it and make some money. However, idle land is not useful to this country. Land is one of the four factors of production. The four factors of production are land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. If you put them together, you produce and grow the country. This country has large tracts of idle land and a huge number of idle people. If we combine idle land with idle labour, we will produce enough food for this country. We will not need to import Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods. I was reading the newspapers today where the Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Investment and Industry said that we are importing GMO foods. Ships carrying GMO foods have already started docking in Mombasa. I do not know how we will manage some of these things. I thank Members of Parliament and leaders from Rift Valley for opposing the importation of food because we have enough food in the country. The issue we should address is how to distribute the food from more productive areas to less productive areas like Ukambani. Hon. Temporary Speaker, we currently import 90 per cent of the wheat that is consumed in this country. I went somewhere in Machakos where there is a farmer from Australia who is growing wheat and is doing very well. So, food cannot only be produced in Rift Valley and other fertile areas. Even dry areas like Ukambani can produce enough food. We only need water and irrigation and we will produce food. Those with large tracts of land which they are not using or are not using optimally should be compelled to lease it to Kenyans. I am not for the idea of imposing land rates on them, but they should be compelled to lease land to people who want to use it for production. Even if you impose rates on them, the Government will get that money. But how will it help the country? If you lease the land to people who can farm on it, we will have food. People will be engaged and earn income and the economy will grow. I do not know how Hon. Wanyonyi wanted to implement the concept of maximum and minimum land ownership. I remember Rwanda came up with the idea of a maximum of 25 acres of land per person. Hon. Wanyonyi could check whether that works or not. The problem is not the “small” people. It is the “big” people like you and me who own large tracts of land in this country. Unfortunately, I do not believe in owning land I do not use. In developed countries, the land use policy is very clear. They have zoned areas. There are areas for settlement while the rest of the land is for farming. In South Africa, when you are airborne and you look below, you will see large farms producing a lot of food. Actually, South Africa can feed Sub-Saharan Africa because they do not subdivide their land for settlement. They have zoned areas for settlement and others for farming. They have also mechanised their farming which enables them to get big returns on their land investment. We do not lack policies and legislation. The problem is implementation and enforcement. With those few remarks, I support the Motion. Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}