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{
    "id": 153138,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/153138/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 395,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, when we, as Government, took over at Independence, in 1963, there were white people in this country who vowed never to live under black leadership and, therefore, many of them opted to move out of Kenya. That was the reason as to why the British colonial authorities established a fund. The fund was actually meant to buy out the British colonial settlers, who were not willing to stay in Kenya under an African Government. That is the reason as to why the Settlement Fund Trustee (STF) was established. It was not established to help the Africans to settle. It was not meant to help Kenyans settle. The SFT was meant to buy out the British settlers who were not willing to stay in an Independent Kenya under the rule of Africans. So, the SFT was not meant for squatters. It was initially meant for white settlers. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, when we talk of settlement, it does not mean settling squatters. It was to settle landless people. Looking at the people who were landless, and who were settled then, you will realize that they were not people who were squatting. Some of them were university professors and intellectuals who held very high positions. At Muhoroni Settlement Scheme, for example, we have people who were allocated 100 acres of land, and others who were allocated 50 acres, et cetera . The “small” people were given 10 acres of land each. Within that scheme, we also have squatters. So, the STF was actually not meant to settle squatters. Squatters comprise of a specific group of people who could even be squatting on their own land. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, these are people whose land was acquired by the Government through different ways. So, they became squatters because they were only valuable at the time when they were used as labourers. When they were not in a position to work, they became squatters on their own land. That is the reason as to why, over the years, due to lack of very clear policies, money has been allocated to the SFT. However, the money in this Fund does not specifically go to squatters, because it is not meant for squatters. It is meant to settle people. Therefore, anybody applies and gets settled. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, that is why, as a Ministry and a Government, we have decided to support the Motion, which talks of the powers given to us under the Finance Act, which allows us to establish Funds."
}