Kenya govt. will start implementing the Ndung'u report on irregular land allocation from next week, Lands Minister James Orengo has announced.
Posted in July 24th, 2008
by Editor in Coast, Kenya
Government to implement Ndung'u Land Report
By Patrick Beja
The Government will start implementing the Ndung'u report on irregular land allocation from next week, Lands Minister James Orengo has announced.
Orengo said he has studied the report and does not need to consult Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki or form another commission to implement it.
"I will take action on the Ndung'u report from next week. Those who were allocated public land with impunity will have themselves to blame," he said.
Addressing leaders at Kwale County Hall in Kwale District, on Thursday, Orengo said those who benefited from irregular land allocations could face prosecution.
Transport Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Assistant Ministers Gonzi Rai and Bifwoli Wakoli and Coast PC Ernest Munyi accompanied him.
Orengo warned some influential people have "stepped on people's toes for long and it was now time to step on theirs".
The minister said he would push the Draft National Land Policy through to Cabinet and Parliament so it could be adopted before a new constitution expected within a year. He said the new land legislation would reduce statutes on land from more than 15 to two to avoid complications on land matters.
They are the Land Titles Act and Administration and Management of Land Acts. Orengo warned individuals who had secured leases on Government land would now be required to develop it within 24 months or have it automatically revert back to the State.
Leases for public land would not be renewed if the beneficiaries failed to develop it. He said some people had used public land to borrow huge loans from banks and had either defaulted or fled the country.
"The Government should move fast to protect public and trustee land. It is wrong to renew any lease when the beneficiary has failed to develop the land," said Orengo. He asked for a list of absentee landlords at the Coast to address the problem and settle local squatters.
Kwale Councillor Sheikh Khamis Banda said the report would addressed most Coastal land problems.
Courtesy of:http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1143990918&cid=4&
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" Kenya govt. will start implementing the Ndung'u report on irregular land allocation from next week, Lands Minister James Orengo has announced. "