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{
    "id": 1186579,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1186579/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 385,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I support this Motion, but with caution that I will talk about later. This Motion arises from three important factors. One, in this country, there are large tracts of land that you wonder who owns them and how they are used. Some are ranches that owners say they are well utilised while some are left idle and one would wonder what they are used for. That is a factor that we are all aware of. You go to some places and see huge tracts of land that you are told belongs to an individual or a family. Two, in some parts of this country, pieces of land are so small yet subdivision is going on in infinitesimal portions that cannot even be productive. There are jokes in some places that if your roof is without water collection, the water from your roof falls into another person’s land. That is how small the pieces of land are. The third factor arises from the Constitution. Article 68(c)(i) provides for a minimum and maximum acreage of land in respect to private land. If you look at these two factors, you then realise a huge issue that needs very serious consideration. People with small pieces of land will say, “The Constitution entitles me to own land.” But the same Constitution in Article 40 gives the right to property which includes possession, control, use, exclusion of property so that even land is exclusively owned by the person, enjoyment, and disposition of land. Again, we find ourselves in a situation where on one hand, the Constitution gives the right to own a small piece and on the other hand, the right to own whether it is a small or large piece of land. The same Constitution says we should put limitations to land ownership. This just indicates the huge problem we have concerning land in this country. There is even conflict between conservationists and locals. We know there are communities that have been in and out of court for a long period of time because they are being denied the use of land which the State considers to be forest land where people should not live. Again, on the same issue of land, we have structures, systems, laws, and Government offices that deal with land. We have reached a situation where purchase of land is so unsafe and the titles are no longer sacrosanct as they should be. You have a title and you are told it was not properly acquired yet there is the provision for individuals to go to the Ministry of The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}