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{
    "id": 633018,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/633018/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 456,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Serut",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 297,
        "legal_name": "John Bomet Serut",
        "slug": "john-serut"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for having recognised me as having worked in the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development. I want to start with an area which I have a lot of interest in, which is the Land Registration Division. I went through the Land Act, 2012, and surprising, if you look at it very closely, you will be shocked and anybody who deals with land like a Land Registrar, land owners and developers, will tell you that the Act did not recognise title deeds issued under Cap. 280. This is the Government Lands Act. It can only do so on validation, which takes a long time. I do not know whether the persons who passed the Act asked themselves if titles given as collaterals in banks would be invalid if they were found not recognisable. I believe this amendment will cure that. If not, I urge the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Lands to ensure that titles issued during that time, most of which I know are freehold titles of 1909 and 1927, are recognised, so that money that is given by financial institutions is safe and secure and the people can pay their mortgages. Another interesting issue is the one raised by the Chief Whip on minimum and maximum acreage. I know this is on private land, but I am a bit skeptical about it. Land is a very emotive issue. Kenyans fought because of land. In Africa, the resource that is valued most is land. If we are going to set minimum and maximum acreage, what will happen to surplus land, if any? What will happen to those who do not have land? Kenya is a capitalist economy and we should let the pockets of Kenyans to dictate how much land they can own instead of deciding for them how much they should own and what they should not own. The issue of maximum and minimum land should not be set by legislation, but by the pockets of Kenyans. I am happy the new amendment is curing the issue of appointment of the Chief Land Registrar and other registrars, both at the national and county level. The Registry Division has been brought under the Ministry. The division being under the Ministry, the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development will be fully accountable. We had a lot of problems during the stand-off between the Ministry and the NLC. Most Kenyans suffered because they could not get their land registered. I want to speak to the issue of historical injustices. This amendment is not clear as to how that issue will be addressed. I want to request that in the Report from the Departmental Committee on Lands, a clear process be set out on how those who lost their land through historical injustices are going to be resettled including the most vulnerable in the society. Another issue which has not been touched is the issue of allocation of land by Ministries. We have seen land being allocated to individuals, but there are no proper guidelines as to how this legislation is going to address that. I urge the House to look at this law and ensure that this is spelt out to avoid any future conflicts amongst families and Kenyans. The last thing that I want to speak about is overriding interests. In the current omnibus, which is the Bill, overriding interests have been reduced from 15 to seven. I am still concerned about the spouses’ interest. The spouses’ interest should be retained, so that our beautiful ladies The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}