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{
    "id": 137450,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/137450/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 502,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Lands",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": " Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I commend Mr. Kaino for bringing this Motion before this House. It is an important Motion because it gives us an opportunity to discuss very important matters in relation to land tenure and generally, on the land policy. I do not want to anticipate debate on the land policy, because right now, the Ministry is preparing a Sessional Paper on the land policy which will be brought to this House for debate and approval or otherwise. This Motion makes some assumptions which are not correct. I have discussed with my colleague, Mr. Kaino, that subject to some amendments, we have no problem with the Motion. However, I would like to point out aspects of this Motion which are not correct. I want Dr. Eseli to listen because he is also affected. I know that these matters are very important in so far as Dr. Eseli’s constituency is concerned. The position in the country at the moment is that every land that falls under an agricultural settlement scheme is on freehold title. Under the Agriculture Act, which is the operative provision, the SFT cannot issue any title in an agricultural scheme which is not a freehold. In fact, the Motion is asking us to do what is already in place. All titles in agricultural settlement schemes are freehold. We are going in the opposite direction in the National Land Policy in so far as agricultural settlement schemes are concerned. It is also a fact that in trust lands which have been adjudicated and people issued with titles, they are given freehold titles or what is called under the Registered Land Act “absolute proprietorship”. This means that you virtually own that land without any conditions. So, a squatter who is allocated land in a settlement scheme is issued with a freehold title. With regard to what Dr. Eseli was talking about in relation to pieces of the land in his constituency which are on leasehold, those pieces of land were formally occupied by the white settlers or those who managed to get Government land on leasehold. Since they were on leasehold, they cannot transfer a title that is better than the title they hold."
}