Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 223463,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/223463/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 215,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Omingo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 180,
        "legal_name": "James Omingo Magara",
        "slug": "omingo-magara"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this chance to contribute to this Motion. This Motion has come at an appropriate time. We know that from time immemorial, since Kenya attained its Independence, Kenyans focused their sights on land. They wanted to grab it from the colonial masters. It was quite appetizing for people to target prime land for purposes of personal gain. To that extent, open land, to the powers or the administration that existed then, was quite juicy. Somebody cracked a joke and said that the Kenyan leadership suffered from land \" grabbiosis \"! Any open land was up to their own possession. That happened in the past and it must be stopped. Public institutions have suffered a great deal. We know that private investors have always encroached on public institutions. They have done that with impunity because they have the protection from the powers that be. If we cannot protect public utility land, it will be open to abuse. We saw that in the newspapers last week. A Minister in the Government has threatened to forcefully acquire land meant for a university and distribute it to squatters. It is not that we do not care about the squatters, but can we put our priorities right? If somebody has no passion for education because, maybe, he has no value for it or he never attained it, he should also care about those who are concerned about education. This Government must also reckon that it is not our problem that somebody did not attain some level of education to the extent that he or she wants to compromise a facility that is meant for higher education, because he or she thinks education is valueless. It is important to pass this Motion as it is, so that we can protect our institutions. In Kisii District, for example, we have a serious land shortage. We do not have title deeds for the little land that we have. Some people are encroaching on land that is meant for institutions. One such case is Rigana Primary School where the land issue is in total confusion. The title deed for that land is registered in Migoro District. The board of governors contributes money to go and address the matter in different jurisdictions. At the end of the day, that compromises their thinking and that land has remained without a title deed. It is on the verge of being grabbed. I liked the contribution by the Assistant Minister for Agriculture. He has a passion for that land because he understands what it takes. It is from the agricultural land that we produce the food that we enjoy. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is important to address our land policy exhaustively. We should re-look at the selective way in which we deal with land matters. For example, we have not implemented the recommendations of the Ndung'u Report in full because they touch on some of the great boys and women. It is important that, that Report is implemented in full. That report was done using Kenyan taxpayers' money. The Ndung'u Report identified utility land. Some of that land has titles deeds. Before we get back to the issue of claiming land, let us keep the one that we have safely for the purposes for which it was intended. The Government is offering free primary education. His Excellency the President has promised Kenyans that his Government will waive tuition fees for secondary education next year, when he is out of office! That is interesting! We need to protect the children of this country from that kind of mess. The people who pay rates and land adjudication charges are the same poor parents who the Government has chosen to help. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I had an occasion to travel to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Training School in Mombasa. That facility is located on prime land. But there are 1042 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES May 2, 2007 private developers who are occupying that land. The terminology \"private developers\" is only known to the issuers of title deeds in Prof. Kibwana's office. We must now demystify and understand who those private developers are. Is it a private developer like that of the Njabini case? Is it a private developer because he or she is closer to the powers that be? Is it a private developer because he is raising funds for the general elections for this Government to survive? We must address that. At the end of the day, those who need land, and legitimately so, have it. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}