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{
    "id": 1457777,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1457777/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 227,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wamatinga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13582,
        "legal_name": "Wahome Wamatinga",
        "slug": "wahome-wamatinga"
    },
    "content": "Kenya is a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some of them look at the issue of having urban places that are controlled with a clean environment, access to water and sanitary facilities. However, that cannot happen unless we are deliberate and have a unified approach in all the towns across the country. I sit in the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources. We get very many petitioners who have been pursuing matters since 1970. Some of the people who come to the Committee are 70, 80 or 90 years old. They tell us horrid stories of how they have tried to pursue justice, but they are not able to access it because we have a National Lands Commission and the political class that is unwilling to help. Unfortunately, some of them are even pushed further by the religious groups. We shall also be proposing some changes in this amendment. It is high time that we now look at a unified approach that will ensure transparency, accountability and fairness, especially to the people who are indigenous, whose lands have been taken by absentee landlords. At this juncture, I take this opportunity to thank His Excellency the President, because he is brave and bold enough to address the issue of absentee landlords. In the Coast and some areas in the in the Rift Valley, we have huge tracts of land that are owned by the colonialists, not because they bought it from anybody, but took it away from the natives then. It is high time we start looking at those historical injustices. Let us address them as Kenyans. It is important that we do not shy away from biting the bullet and returning them to the locals and who own them. As we talk about the uniformity of land rates, it is also very important that we call out the land registrars in this country. They must be transparent. I thank the Cabinet Secretary who has today been able to go through the vetting process. She has attempted to introduce a new way of transacting all the land, so that you would know what is moving from one person to the next. As I conclude, we have looked at the way the locals are benefiting in the Local Content Bill, which we have just concluded. It is imperative that we have deliberate laws that ensure that the locals do not only benefit from the minerals in their place, but also take part actively, so that there is also technology transfer. I support the Land (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.40 of 2022). It gives us a golden opportunity to address the things that have become erosive since the 1960s. It is our time to address them. In the new spirit of the Generation Z, we must be seen to be moving in the right direction. That means biting the bullet, implementing the three land reports and ensuring that all the historical injustices that are in this country have been addressed conclusively. This includes looking at the religious groups that have grabbed land from the local communities and have taken advantage of them to enrich themselves with the land, with the promise that they do not need earthly belongings, because in heaven they shall have them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is the high time we stood up as Kenyans and say, enough is enough. We must look at these matters, so that as we shape the future of this country that we will leave to the Generation Z and Alpha, we leave them a country that is equally and fairly divided. We can only do the right thing by ensuring that we put the right legal framework and legislative infrastructure in place. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}