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{
"id": 770688,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/770688/?format=api",
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"content": "My Ministry is implementing Thwake Multipurpose Dam Project in Kitui and Makueni counties. The dam which when completed will have a storage capacity of 681 million cubic meters of water will have a displacement effect. In this regard, a total of 9,158 areas of land will be acquired for the Dam Project displacing a total of approximately, 1,792 persons in Mbooni East, Kathonzweni and Lower Yatta sub- counties. To date, a total of 1,563 Project Affected Persons (PAPs) have been fully compensated. The State Department of Irrigation is making arrangements to compensate the remaining 229 persons before commencement of works by the end of January, 2018. The total compensation value of the land and development therein is approximately Kshs3.550 billion. My Ministry, through the State Department of Irrigation has to date remitted Kshs2.850 billion to the National Land Commission (NLC) for acquisition of land. The Department has been monitoring the process of payment hence receiving returns from the NLC. Copies of correspondence on the same are attached to this letter. Compensation to the Thwake Dam PAPs is categorized in two components; the land and developments therein. Whereas development within each parcel of land is attributed to a specific PAP, the same is not the case for land ownership mostly due to the succession issues on family land. At the start of the acquisition of land for the dam project, most of the parcels of land earmarked for acquisition were ancestral land. This necessitated subdivision of the respective parcels of land among the beneficiaries and initiation of succession process in order to identify legitimate owners for compensation. In order to expedite the succession process, the State Department of Irrigation and the NLC approached the Judiciary for limited grant which was granted. The process of the land succession was therefore fast tracked and by December, 2016 most of the succession cases had been resolved. To date, there are less than 10 pending cases. In this regard, initial compensation to the persons affected which commenced in May, 2015 was mostly on the developments as the land succession process went on. After the succession process was finalized, most of the PAPs who had been compensated for their developments pending finalization of land succession have been fully compensated for their acquired land. This explains the circumstances under which some project affected persons are being paid in installments. Thwake Multi-purpose Dam Project is co-financed by the Government of Kenya (GOK) and the African Development Bank (AFDB). The AFDB through a loan agreement and protocol agreement both signed on 27th January, 2014 between the GOK and the AFDB, will provide a total of Kshs8,023,550,223.00 for the dam project. The GOK will provide the rest of the funds, which is approximately, Kshs34,498,449,777.00. The total cost of the project is approximately Kshs42.522 billion. Out of the Kshs8,023,550,223.00 contribution from the AFDB, Kshs7,869,177,576.00 will be provided as Grant through the protocol of agreement. Mr. Speaker, Sir, that is a huge amount of money. The letter is signed by the Minister for Water and Irrigation, Hon. Hon. Eugene Wamalwa."
}