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{
    "id": 236996,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/236996/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 277,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Mwiria",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Education",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 190,
        "legal_name": "Valerian Kilemi Mwiria",
        "slug": "kilemi-mwiria"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to support this Motion and to congratulate, like others have done, the mover of this Motion. It is important to look at the historical origins of this problem. People came, just appropriated land and decided that it was theirs and thereafter gave themselves title deeds. Unfortunately, this problem continued after we attained political Independence. Some Africans who collaborated with the mzungu were able to acquire as much land as they wanted. In fact, some of those who were supposed to have been protecting the Africans' rights were the first ones to align with the former colonialist to ensure that Africans never got access to the land that was rightfully theirs. Even most of the Mau Mau fighters who were associated with the reclaiming of African land never benefited from the land that was available after Independence. The land was taken by collaborators and those who were in the struggle for land. I would like to agree with those who said that we need to educate our people. It is true that we should reclaim our land, but we also need to educate our people; that land is not a commodity you can have forever because it is limited and the population keeps on growing. Emotional attachment to land, or livestock in the case of pastoralists, is not going to solve the problem of landlessness and poverty. We must, therefore, begin to think of other ways of earning a living. For example, countries like Japan and Singapore do not depend on land. In fact, Singapore is a very good example because it is highly industrialised. In industrialised countries of the West, there is much less dependence on land for the majority of people as opposed to having large-scale farms that are profitable and can benefit many people indirectly in form of labour. More importantly, there is a diversification of opportunities to make a living. Therefore, even as we talk about land, we need to emphasise on issues beyond that. For example, what are we doing to ensure that the majority of people in this country benefit from education so that they can acquire professional skills that they can utilise if they do not have a piece of land? It is not going to be possible for all of us to have access to land. What are we doing to ensure that we give them that education that will enable them take advantage of employment opportunities in this country and elsewhere? That, for sure, will also have little to do with whether or not we make available, say, ten hectares which should then be subdivided to very small portions. If you go to Kisii District, you will realise that land has been subdivided into very small portions and one wonders when they will cease being useful in terms of even hosting a household. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to agree with those who have talked November 1, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3311 about the need for a development plan. The Vision 2030 that was recently launched by the President is certainly a step in the right direction. The emphasis will not just be on land and agriculture, but on pastoralism, industrialisation and anything else that will enable us create employment. The real problem of landlessness is not that people do not have land, but it is that they have nothing to do to earn a living. If we give them alternative land, I think many people will say that they also have to be resettled. We have to resettle landless people to deal with injustices. Absentee landlords have no business owning land which is not productive. We should not allow people to grab public beaches. Some beaches meant for the public use have been \"Nyakuad\" . If you go to Mombasa now---"
}