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{
    "id": 712525,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/712525/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 528,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). We will need to have a Mass Transit System of light trains and even heavy trains in certain areas. There are certain roads around the city where we need to create train stations. That will require compulsory acquisition of that land, but then, there has to be a mechanism through which these people are compensated in a predictable and fair manner. In this city, you will need to have single bus lanes and special lanes for public transport as you streamline the sector. The only public thing about transport in Kenya is the passengers and not even the transport system! To do that, you will need to have a predictable system that can attract investors to put a premium and money to this kind of projects that we are talking about. This should not just be done in Nairobi, but across the country. There would be need for that kind of forward thinking. I am glad this law limits the application of the principle of equity for future where land is held under a licence. I am very glad that Clause 5, which amends Section 107, gives us a very clear procedure to be followed. Things do not work because of lack of clarity despite the fact that we have laws. However, where a requirement is received and the Commission determines that the request to acquire land, whether by the County Government of Nairobi or by the Ministry of Transport, meets the certain threshold and prerequisite, then the Commission has the land marked out. It is valued by a Government valuer using a valuation criterion that is agreed upon. Then there is notification of the public and affected persons on the specific purpose for which the land is to be acquired, the location and the description including the size. Then the Registrar has to make an order that restricts dealings with that affected portion of land until the process is done. This will help us avoid the kind of speculation we have seen and there will be predictability in dealing with the process. This speculation business makes everything commercial. It is not necessarily bad, but it is not for the greater good of the country, under the very principle of utilitarianism. In Clause 6, the criteria is set out, but Clause 7 says that the first alternative, once your land is compulsorily acquired, is the alternative allocation of land of equal value and comparable use to the land that is being taken. That is the primary source of compensation. The primary source of compensation is no longer money because that is what leads people to speculate. Somebody who has no interest at all in owning land in Lamu or Isiolo has gone there because the value of compensation is cash. It says that if you buy land whose market price at the time of purchase was Kshs1 million or Kshs200,000, the primary form of compensation to you becomes land of equal value and equal usage and preferably in area of similar characteristics. If the alternative land is not available, then other forms of compensation can be monetary payment. Some people like Eng. Gumbo might prefer to get Government Bonds of equal value. Some people might prefer a grant or a transfer of development rights or shares in Government-owned entities. There are many ways through which you can get compensation. The beautiful thing is that this Bill does not even look like it has come from the Government. It says that the amount will come immediately or in installments of not more than three years. I have never heard this coming from the Government where you are limiting the amount of time you will take to give compensation. It is beautiful. It shows that, indeed, the Jubilee Government wants to match development with the rights. Allow me to wind up. I have just seen the red light. This Bill balances the constitutional right of an individual to hold property and the greater good of this country. I support it. Because of time, I will not move further, I think other amendments are just typographical errors. It is just to remind Kenyans that the achievement of our development goals, 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."
}