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{
    "id": 998516,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/998516/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 1466,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui South, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Rachael Nyamai",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13374,
        "legal_name": "Richard Ken Chonga Kiti",
        "slug": "richard-ken-chonga-kiti"
    },
    "content": "15 per cent on maintenance and 5 per cent on the rest. We have told them that the country has goodwill for the NLC and now that they have a new commission, they may want to relook at their programmes so that they can bring a budget which is easier to defend, looking at the fact that they have historical land injustices to deal with and they are the ones who are also dealing with compensation. Hon. Speaker, the budget for compensation does not entirely come from the National Land Commission, but the Ministries and Departments that are seeking land. However, after compensation, the Committee had requested for Kshs600 million for vesting of land. When the NLC has acquired land, for example, for a dam and the dam has been built, then it is important that they get a title, of course, to be secured at the National Treasury but in the name of that institution so that we avoid re-grabbing of public land. This has happened with roads that are managed by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) et cetera, where land is acquired but because there is no funding for vesting, the land is lost. This is something I would like to bring to the attention of the House. Hon. Speaker, if you look at the Budget Report, you will see that the report they have made on the Departmental Committee on Lands is the most important statement that our Committee has made at this time, as a recommendation. That the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning has the capacity to collect a lot of money for this country and even fund other Ministries. But there is a gap on page 14 that was stated very well by the able Chair, Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah, whereby the Committee proposed that the Ministry fast-tracks the development of a digital revenue collection system to reduce leakages. Hon. Speaker, we have noticed as a Committee that this Ministry, as I said earlier, has the ability to collect funds. Currently, we are talking about Kshs11 to Kshs12 billion but, when you look at it, collections are done in cash. I remember one of the members of our Committee giving an example of Ruiru, where the Member for Ruiru, Hon. Simon King’ara, was saying that there is a court and next to it is the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning. When you go to court, you cannot pay cash. But when you go to the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, they will collect cash. We have given them a deadline - and I am happy that the Budget and Appropriations Committee has stated clearly - that they must stop cash collection and put in place cashless ways of collecting money. The Committee has given them a deadline of July 2020 so that they are able to collect funds without collecting cash because we believe that they are losing a lot of money. Hon. Speaker, I would also like to go to the general deductions as stated by other Chairs. We realized that there was a change right from the Budget Policy Statement. There are reductions of Kshs58 million from the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, and Kshs51 million from NLC. Our concern was in terms of following the law, should this change. Just like the other Chairs, we are faced with a change on the last day of presentation of this Budget. The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning is affected and has lost about Kshs500 million - for a Ministry which has a budget of Ksh6.1 billion which we are already saying is underfunded. To lose an extra Ksh500 million, we found it to be something that the House needs to note so that during the Supplementary Budget, the matter can be reconsidered, bearing in mind that their budget is only Ksh6.1 billion. Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity. I would like to, again, thank the Members of the Departmental Committee on Lands for their support and input in the Statements that I have made this evening."
}