Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 830761,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/830761/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 184,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tigania West, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Mutunga",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13495,
        "legal_name": "John Kanyuithia Mutunga",
        "slug": "john-kanyuithia-mutunga"
    },
    "content": "urban. This Motion should fix the amount of land that should be set aside for a school in view of the possibilities for growth and development and increase in populations. Our country is young. We are growing in both numbers and institutions. As we grow, we take up the available space. As we focus on the space that we need to take, we need to have policy guidelines that will help us grow without limiting the possibility of space. Even if we talk about compulsory acquisition and the Government has the muscle to compulsorily acquire land, it does not mean that those from whom we take will get equal livelihoods elsewhere. We need to come up with policy guidelines to forecast the population of a particular region so that that we set up school construction guidelines based on the maximum number of the population. We have super architects in this country. The infrastructural design should focus on how we should set up the ground infrastructure for future development upwards, and then we can have fixed land sizes for different zones. Though I support this Motion, I believe it lacks in that particular dimension. Therefore, we need to look at how it should it grow into a Bill. Let me also talk about the fact that most of the land we have in these schools has no titles. Although there have been efforts and a Government policy to have all the land that belongs to institutions registered with the land registries, some of them do not have titles. That is why there is encroachment by unscrupulous Kenyans who want to get more for less. So, one of the things we should emphasise as a House is that all school land should be secured. We should give a time limit because we cannot wait or do it for ever. There is also the need to look at what is happening in private schools and learn from them. Because they do not have the muscle to acquire land or the possibility to set up a fund, they grow to scale. They grow systematically and realistically. Why do we not focus on what they are doing? There are very few private schools that are growing laterally; they grow upwards. I would also like to bring up the fact that as we consider looking for more land, we need to look at alternative uses of land. We need to look at the patterns of growth and development in terms of population in this country. Where there is potential for livelihood support systems is where we should have people. Where there is minimum potential for livelihood support is where we should have less people. Why can we not focus in this direction and set up guidelines on how to grow? I support the fund, but it should be focused towards restructuring the schools that we have right now. The temporal nature of putting up temporary, semi-permanent to permanent classes should stop. The NG-CDF is not enough to develop institutions in this country. We should have serious investments in institutions of learning, especially the lower ones, so that we may be more focused and guided as a country. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support with those remarks."
}