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{
"id": 238243,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/238243/?format=api",
"text_counter": 131,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Nyachae",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Roads and Public Works",
"speaker": {
"id": 342,
"legal_name": "Simeon Nyachae",
"slug": "simeon-nyachae"
},
"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what I want is just 110 metres to construct the road. That is all! The rest, which is occupied by more than 1,000 people--- I have said that, that land was acquired by the Government. Those people are Kenyans, and since we do not need the rest of the land, they can continue living there until it will be needed; I do not know when the need will arise. Maybe, there will be need to build a six-lane road. But for now, however, we do not want to touch those people. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on your way from Mavoko, on the left-hand side, there is a church, a mosque, a petrol station and a school. The school was developed by some local manufacturers on an area that was earmarked for a weighbridge. We are planning to have computerised weighbridges. That site had been agreed upon. So, what we have decided, as far as the school is concerned--- Please, do not expect anything else to be done for other people who have built structures on the road reserve. As far as the school is concerned, the contract sum is included in the World Bank loan. We will use part of the contract sum to move the school and build it ourselves on the other side of the lower part of the road. We shall then leave the other side for use of the weighbridge. That is the plan we have so far. We are not going to demolish the school until we have built a new school. We are being human about our actions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to the mosque and the church, they are outside the 110 metres required for road expansion. So, for that reason, we will not demolish the mosque or the church. However, the petrol station is the one that is actually inside the 110 metres required for road expansion. The owner of the petrol station could find some other land in the same area and relocate. I will not allow the petrol station and other structures on the road reserve because I need that land for the construction of the Northern Corridor. This is an economic regional road and we are not going to give in to any argument. Other people have not given us problems all the way from Mombasa to Malaba. The people of Mlolongo are the ones giving us problems. We really need to be reasonable about some of these things. I would like to address the issue that was raised here, that the physical planner in the area circulated plans. How do you allow somebody to circulate plans of illegal occupation? If I wanted to be rude, strictly speaking, those people have trespassed. How do you sit down to discuss with a trespasser? I think we have to accept the reality here, that we cannot accept trespass. We, however, know that they are our people and that they invested their savings there. We also appreciate the fact that the owners of the structures were misled by certain people who allocated them the land irregularly. There is nothing for this House to consider as new. Concerning illegality of land acquisition and allocation, and the officers involved, we have requested the Minister for Lands and Settlement to follow up on the case. This game started a long time ago and people have lived there for so long now. I am afraid that there is nothing more I can do than that. As far as I am concerned, I have had a meeting with the hon. Member for the area and I showed him the list of structures that have been 3064 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 19, 2006 built on the road reserve that is required for the construction of the Northern Corridor. I have given him the list so that he can go and show the owners of the structures and tell them that they are the ones who are affected. I do not want to touch on the property of other people which is not on the road reserve. Let us agree that we have to develop this country and that discipline must be applied. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not sending bulldozers tomorrow. I want this to be understood clearly. Next Wednesday, I am placing a notice in the Press to show those who are affected. The notice will last three weeks after which I will deploy my bulldozers there to do some work. However, for now, that is the position."
}