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{
    "id": 1457732,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1457732/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 182,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orwoba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I also want to understand what happens in the case of private and public partnerships. The Kenya Kwanza Government is pushing to have more investors come to the country. We are even telling investors that if they are willing to come and pump in a certain amount of money and employ up to a thousand people, the Government is going to offer them land for a period of time. In that case, who then holds the title deed? Is it going to be a joint venture? Will the registrar give a title that is going to--- I do not know, because these kind of parameters are not discussed in this Bill. I also want to highlight that while we only think of one side of it, which is our schools and public institutions should get title deeds, let us also look at the county governments and their assets. Once a county government is issued with a title deed that they own a piece of land, who becomes the custodian? If it is the governor, we want to know who is going to use that title deed to trade with it. What are the parameters around that? I hate to be the devil's advocate, but we have seen so many cases, particularly in religious institutions, where we have had many fights between the leaders and the boards of those institutions on ownership of the property of those institutions. My question to the sponsor of this Bill and the House is: Are we going to accompany this Bill with regulations, so that we define the parameters of the people who are going to now be the custodians of the title deeds that we are pushing to put out there? I foresee a situation in the near future, where you have a school, which is a public institution saying that the school requires an extra dormitory or a school bus, and they decide to go for asset financing using the title deed. If that happens, in the event that they are unable to pay that financing, are we also saying that we are opening the doors for public institutions to be taken over by private entities or by individuals who will be assisting through asset financing? We know that there are many microfinances who will see this as an opportunity to acquire assets or public land. On the issue of affordable housing, we already have a very grey area. We do not understand how the title deed is moving from a public land and going to individuals who are going to buy those several homes that are being built by the Affordable Housing Project. Until we ask these very pertinent questions and are able to give an explanation on the parameters and a guideline of operations, it is very important that a clause is included. That any public entity or institution that is going to be the custodian of the land is not allowed to use it for any form of asset financing. This is because, once we have passed this Bill, in 15 years, so many schools would have been lost to microfinances through asset financing because they were unable to pay. We would have lost the Affordable Housing Project to many financial experts who see an opportunity to jump in and utilise that opportunity for other purposes that the Bill is not addressing. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I make my submissions, I would like to pose the question to the sponsor of the Bill and perhaps, this House, to think carefully if we want to amend this Bill in the absence of regulations or inclusion of the parameters of the custodians of the title deeds. I thank you."
}