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{
    "id": 1268202,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1268202/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 159,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "put one tap to show people there is water only for people to build, start living there and realise they have only one line of water that cannot supply more than 1,000 litres per day. This Bill also takes cognizance of the needs of the county and promotes imposition of rates to boost social and economic development. These are the issues I am speaking to. There are also issues of conducting effective public participation and creating public awareness in the counties. This speaks to an incidence I have witnessed in my county of Kiambu. Without conducting proper public participation and public awareness, the County Government of Kiambu decided to change the rates levied on properties. Lack of public participation and public awareness means that even MCAs approve legislative proposals taken to their assemblies without paying attention to the impact of those propositions on land owners. Agricultural land and freehold land were previously not ratable, but the County Assembly of Kiambu imposed rates on agricultural land through the Finance Bill of 2017 or 2018. You can imagine a farmer in Ondiri or Mai-a-ihii village, where I come from, and others in Gikambura, Kerwa or some village in Karachuonyo, being required to pay land rates like those imposed on property owners in Kiambu. Such farmer would be required to pay land rates in hundreds of thousands of shillings for a two-acre piece of land. In other words, that farmer would be required to pay rates that are higher than what they produce on that farm. Therefore, we need to have a legislative framework to ensure fairness and certainty, so that if you are farming in Kikuyu, Kabete or Uthiru, you do not pay the same land rates as somebody who has developed his land or subdivided it and built lots of apartments. A person who is generating more revenue from rental income should pay more rates than a farmer producing food. That way, we will not discourage our farmers. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I had a trip with you to the Hague way back in 2015 or 2016 and you will remember that as we landed early in the morning, right outside the airport, we saw farmers growing wheat. You will be met with similar scenes in many other cities in the Netherlands because there is a deliberate policy by the government to encourage urban farming. People who undertake farming near cities are encouraged to do so through special tax regimes and administrative policies. Therefore, we should not be encouraging people to build concrete jungles because rental income generates more money yet there is no food. Today we are crying about the cost of food yet Kitengela and other parts of Kajiado County, as well as lower Machakos, are areas where people can grow food, if they are encouraged to do so. People with freehold land in the counties surrounding Nairobi can farm. The county governments of Machakos, Kajiado and Kiambu should encourage such people to grow food crops. There should be no disparity between those in income-generating activities and those growing food crops. We can, therefore, encourage farming. This Bill also provides a criterion for delimitation of categories. For instance, the provision for ratable properties has categorised land rates and exemptions. This is what I was speaking to. For instance, county governments could classify certain areas as agricultural land and exempt them from paying property rates because we want to encourage agriculture, and more so food production. The County Government of Kiambu, for instance, could also determine that they want to encourage industry development in Thika. In order to do so, they can reduce the land rates for industries and levy more on those who build houses or farm. In Kisumu, they could decide that they want to create a landing base around the lake. Similarly, investors around the lake will enjoy lower property rates so as to encourage to carry on with such activities. This Bill will ensure prudent use of funds collected for purposes of operationalising the resultant Act in order to enhance service delivery in our counties by ensuring the existence of transparent and accountable system in county governments. Three or four months ago, I wanted to take a loan from a financial institution and I needed a land rates clearance certificate. At the 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."
}