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{
    "id": 813814,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/813814/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 101,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Eng.) Hargura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 827,
        "legal_name": "Godana Hargura",
        "slug": "godana-hargura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to support this Petition. We know that the Constitution is very clear on how we come up with urban areas and cities. That is why we have the Urban Areas and Cities Act. However, we also know the Constitution stresses very much on public participation and that is why we do have devolution. We need to amend that part of the Act which says that ‘notwithstanding these other requirement, the governor can go ahead---.’ This could be unconstitutional because it is like the governor is given power to override the requirement of public participation. Coming back to the issues raised by the petitioners, we do have group ranches which are basically private lands that have freehold titles. The initial Maralal Town had its boundaries. By trying to come up with the municipality, the governor is trying to encroach on private land without the consent of the public. We need to make sure that the public does not lose their land because, as it has been said, the main victims here will be the pastoralists who subdivided the community land into group ranches. Each group has its own part mainly for livestock keeping and other purposes. Unfortunately, somebody in the name of a governor has included part of their land in the municipality. By extension, they have to pay rates for that land. If they fail to do so, the land will be taken over by the county government which will be a clever way of dispossessing them of their land. Therefore, I believe that they have a right to petition the Senate for them not to lose their land through an Act which gives the governor that kind of power. We have to move with speed and make sure that the governor does not have his way. This is because that way, the public will lose their land. As it has been said, the immediate benefit to have it upgraded is for them to access to the Kenya Urban Support Programme Fund. It could have had a positive effect of, maybe, the municipality being able to raise its own funds. However, they are doing it by getting hold of private land, taking it to be part of the municipality, then expecting pastoralists who have just been using the land for grazing to start paying rates which is a very new thing to them. That is why they are resisting. As the Senate, we have to come to their rescue. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there are also other issues whereby it has already been gazetted. I think we need to sit down quickly in the relevant Committee and come up with ways of saving these people of Samburu County. I thank you."
}