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{
    "id": 558665,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/558665/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 295,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Onyonka",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 128,
        "legal_name": "Richard Momoima Onyonka",
        "slug": "richard-onyonka"
    },
    "content": "some officers of the National Land Commission. I have had land matters in Kitutu Chache South. They told me that they wished this Departmental Committee would spend time with them, so that they can give the Committee a clear and true picture of what they feel is ailing the Ministry of Lands. It is important that the Committee looks for time, so that its Members can sit with the National Land Commission and find out why we are having these issues. The other point that I wanted to raise is that when you look at the role of this Committee, every parliamentary committee has the privileges and is entitled to rights under the current Constitution. This House needs to understand that we have a bigger role and responsibility to play to make sure that we solve some of these problems. First, in this Report, you find that because of lack of digitization, you cannot access details, information, the owner of land, the land rates which have been paid, when the owner acquired their land, the exact location of the land and what is on the land. This is something that a country as small as Rwanda has managed to do. Our country Kenya, which provided the technical and legal expertise to Rwanda to set up this system in 2005/2006, can do this. As Hon. Dalmas Otieno has said, we may come to a stage when we may have to bring legislation on this. Some of us understand that the reason why many wealthy individuals with large tracks of land are fearing for the digitization of land registration and surveying is because it would expose what they own. In other countries, you can put this land under trust and nobody will even know that you own it, but the records will be there that this land is owned by either a company or a private individual. Therefore, this country needs to move forward. In a way, the Committee has dealt with this matter. There will be many other issues coming up. As my colleagues have said, I hope the Committee will seize this opportunity, continue to make itself relevant and make sure that we get to the bottom of all the land issues in this country. I will bring a Motion to this House in this regard. Kisii Police Station has been grabbed. Land which was owned by KARI in Kisii has been grabbed and markets have been grabbed. Some of the land dealers are so unscrupulous that they wait for a husband to die; once he is dead, they destroy the documents and then take over the land from the widow. These are issues that the lands committee of this House must deal with in order for us to move forward as a country. I support."
}