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"speaker_name": "Mr. Khamisi",
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"legal_name": "Joseph Matano Khamisi",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my point of contention here is on land. In paragraph 89, the Minister only says that the landless will be settled and has provided Kshs400 million for that purpose. The people to be settled became landless as a result of tribal clashes and relocation from water catchment areas. We have a very serious problem of landlessness. This problem is actually evident at the Coast Province. We have said many times in this House, and outside it, that the Government needs to find a lasting solution to the landlessness of tens of thousands of people at the Coast. We have the problem of absentee landlords. I am very disappointed that the Minister did not deem it fit to put aside funds to settle the landless on the land that is owned today by the absentee landlords. We also did not hear from the Minister what the Government intends to do with tens of thousands of hectares of Government land, now occupied by squatters in the Coast Province. This Government is not serious, and I cannot see it laying building blocks for the future, because without land people cannot be effective contributors to the economy of this country. I urge the Government to rethink its policies. We have been told here severally that the Government has a land policy that will ensure the settlement of squatters. Nothing has been forthcoming for the last four years. I am sure that unless something happens in the next one year, this Government will certainly be in disfavour of the people of Coast Province. I am also disappointed that there was no mention whatsoever of the adjudication of land. We have complained severally in this House about this matter. We were told that the Government did not have money to employ surveyors and other officers who do land adjudication work. I do not think we will get anywhere if we do not allocate money for this purpose. With regard to the re-opening of the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC), I am disappointed that the Government has not seen it fit to also re-open stalled factories at the Coast. I am talking June 28, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1653 about the failed cashew nut factory at Kilifi District and the sugar factory in Kwale District. The people of Coast Province depend on cashew nut and coconut products. These are equivalent to coffee and tea which we see upcountry. It is important that the Government provides a way to ensure that these two products which are actually export products are developed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have not seen any improvement in terms of fishing. Presently, emphasis is only put on fishing in Lake Victoria and other fresh water lakes. There is no emphasis on fishing in the Indian Ocean and yet we have seen the intrusion of foreign trawlers into our waters. This is not beneficial to the local people at all. I would, therefore, like the Government to rethink its policies on fishing along the Indian Ocean. The Minister talked about investment and trade. I have a very good example of a case where the Government is not serious about promoting investment and trade. We have an investor who has come in my constituency prepared to invest US$10 million in making a golf course, building cottages and an airfield that will allow international golfers to come to the area to play golf. As we talk now, this matter is in abeyance because the Government has refused to give consent to the land that is being sold by Rea Vipingo Estate to this company. I am very disappointed because the people have already started building the wall around the golf course yet they have not been provided with the necessary documentation that they need to proceed. The Government needs to be more serious about this issue because I am in dire need of investments in my area. Currently, I do not have any. For me, this is godsend and I have appealed to the Government and even called State House to intervene on this matter. I hope that something will be done in the near future. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Minister also talked about encouraging Kenyans to build houses. He proposed to do this by exempting from income tax the interest earned on deposits of up to Kshs3 million. This is a very commendable move. However, I would like to advise the Minister that the majority of people in this country are too poor to save enough money to enable them build a house. We need to provide facilities not only to urbanites, but also to the rural folks so that they are empowered to build houses. They will then be able to live in them or rent them out for income- generating purposes. With regard to the CDF, I am glad about it. The money that is being used in the CDF is actually people's money; it is not the Government's money. I think that point should be made very clearly so that nobody takes the credit for providing CDF money when it is very clear that it is the people who actually pay for the CDF projects. I thank the Government for giving me the Kshs60 million that my colleague here has talked about. However, I think I deserve more than that because my area has been neglected for the last 40 years. So, Kshs60 million to me is a drop in the ocean. I would like the Government to increase the amount of money allocated for CDF so that we can all be getting over Kshs100 million, especially the areas that are underdeveloped and have been marginalised all these years. That way, we will be able to catch up with people from Kabete Constituency who are said to be the richest in this country. We need to move along with everybody else. We cannot allow some people to be richer and others poorer. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to the Government's intention on the media. Recently---"
}