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{
    "id": 1268325,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1268325/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 282,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Embakasi West, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Mark Mwenje",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1429,
        "legal_name": "George Theuri",
        "slug": "george-theuri"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. At the outset, I think this Bill is very timely. It has taken long for us to bring such a Bill in this House and I am proud it has found me here. Hon. Temporary Speaker, unfortunately land issues have become matters that are split between national Government and county governments. I am sorry I do not think counties have handled this matter well as it should be. I believe this is the beginning of the national Government starting to take charge. Before I proceed, when the Leader of the Majority Party was moving this Bill, he had a bit of swipe at me by mentioning I may not be too happy with him talking about some individuals in Ruiru who will soon be paying rates. I am keen to remind him, even in absentia, that the law is a double edged sword; it applies to everyone and cuts both ways. It is not just the former presidents but current, future presidents and other big land owners who will be subjected to this Bill which is good. It is good that the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Lands is here. My only concern is whether we might end up having a conflict with the counties on this issue. We would not want this Bill after going through all this to end up in court. I am hoping he is liaising properly with the legal team so that we do not have counties fight us on this issue which I support. The reason some of us refused to support the Finance Bill or most importantly, why I was opposed to the housing levy, is because those of us in Nairobi, more so in a ward in my constituency known as Mowlem... I want them to be given title deeds. That ward has 89,000 people and about 65 per cent of it is unadjudicated so they do not pay rates. If you give these people title deeds and collect the rates as per this Bill, I assure you the 1.5 per cent you are seeking will be there. In that ward alone, you will collect more money than you need from the entire Nairobi in one year. This is something I can assure. I am telling you it is the third most populous ward in Nairobi. Very many of us have developments there and do not have title deeds. When we spoke about expanding the tax base, this is the perfect example where people will appreciate when you give them title deeds and collect rates. This is something the Committee must think about. I will be present to contribute during the Committee stage. How do you collect rates from land without titles? People are benefiting from sewerage system, water and street lighting. If you start charging them rates, it will give them a sense of ownership of the piece of land they have. They are now demanding roads and other things. I am sorry during public participation that would have been the right place to bring in this issue, but it is worth considering especially when talking about regularisation in Nairobi where people have built houses on land which others claim is theirs. I will ask the Departmental Committee on Lands to be bold and brave because I have a Motion coming up. Give people title deeds where nobody is claiming. Where there is a dispute, let us have a regularisation plan but give these people titles and eventually you get to collect rates. If you do this, you will not even be thinking of the 16 per cent Value Added Tax on fuel. Another issue is on developed and non-developed land. This is very key even right here in the Central Business District. We might not agree as Members of Parliament from Nairobi including my colleague from Starehe because there are parcels of undeveloped land in Nairobi. There is one used as a parking area right next to the High Court which is very prime. The value of that parcel of land is probably Ksh3 billion to Ksh4 billion an acre yet there is Re-Insurance Plaza and the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) right next to it. Should these two plots of land be paying the same rates? I do not think so. Of course, you do not want to punish the person who has not developed but you ought to push them a little bit so that they are encouraged to develop that piece of land. Therefore, it is very clear how we are going to look at rating even across Nairobi. 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."
}