http://www.nation.co.ke/...4/-/uol5vr/-/index.html

its about time this sector becomes more controlled and organized.whats your take?

@mwana.i do agree with you and i know it won't happen in the near future.but its a good start and the fact there is discussion about it; is very positive.

What is the definition of 'Idle Land'?

In my view,ALL land should be heavily taxed. That way,anyone owning land will feel the pressure to make use of it or sell it......

If it can't pay back enough to cover the taxes,it becomes a liability and soon enough you have to do something on it.

Behind the gardens...Behind the wall...Under the tree (Including: Red...Dark Blue...Yellow)

If i have 5,000 acres of idle land and to avoid being taxed declare it as a ranch and keep 2 (two!) cows,shall it be recognised as land under utilisation since it is no longer idle? Just wondering...

Before the government moves ahead with such a misadviced bill,they should first agree on the land use policy. If you discourage people owning big chunks of land,then it means you have to allow the uneconomical subdivison of land which will filled up within twenty years by the fast breeding kenyans. I think our focus in Kenya is too much on who owns it instead of how do we best utilise the land for economic activity,food security etc while still taking into consideration the environment. Ownership of land is not permanent. The squatters in the coast region who were given title deeds sold their land and went to squat in other areas. Agriculture is also one of the less profitable industries. Will the government intervene where farmers incurr huge losses? The obligation has to be two ways.

The other issue is which land is this we are talking about. This bill might only be targeting the arable land which might account for less than 5% of the total land in Kenya. No one has an issue with land ownership in the arid and semi-arid region of the country which comprise 80% of the land.

Kenyans save by buying plots. Those plots form part of our parents retirements schemes as they do not have an alternative. Land is also used as collateral and the banks may not be willing to lend the farmers money on the strength of the value of their land.

A totally misguided policy if you ask me.



Baada ya dhiki,faaraja

@all - thanks for your very astute observations and remarks - if only you guys were the task force itself - the bill would be in parliament tomorrow afternoon....and if you were MPs (plus another 200),we'd have a suitable law governing arable,residential and commercial land,with requisite taxation guidelines.....and we'd have 1000k hectares within reach of wanjiku (onyango,khamisi and wafula)...thus removing the thorn from Kenya's bleeding heart and ensuring a very equitable post 2012 era in which agriculture thrives,people subsist and become less of a burden to the government...of course,in reality,this will fuel debate and work its way to the front page from the back...another red herring while Ocampo is in town - perhaps window dressing (to show reforms are underway)...

The problem with equality is that we desire that it be with those that have more than us rather that those that have less

@mukiha

How does impasing heavy taxes on all land help solve the problem. It would only ensure that only the super rich own land in Kenya. How? because 99.99% would default at one time or another and the government would reposses and sell to thos e who can afford! I think that the governement should look at it this way. Have a policy whereby


They uproot all coffee and tea and plant maize and beans ( This will feed Kenya)
Subdivide the country ( especially rural areas) into batches of 200K ha. Move all the people into a small town with all amenities then give them shares to a company that owns the land relative to the acreage each has given up. The company then runs the huge farms employing the shareholders and mechanises all operations. The guys get paid dividend at the end of the year. This will tame rural- urban migration as citites will be everywhere
Lock all physics professors in this country in a room and demand the do not leave until they produce a solar driven vehicle and ensure that all trains are electric ( this reduces our reliance on oil which we do not have)
Maintain a federal system of government where the mayor of each town runs his shop and have a ceremonial central government

No wonder I am not in politics!

@bwenyenye & FundametAli;

Now I change my mind....

Let's not tax land at all

In fact,what is the purpose of the land rent collected by the Ministry of Lands? At least local councils PRETEND that the Rates they collect are to be used in service provision...

And by the way,what is wrong with having idle land?

Or idle [other] property...e.g.,check any woman's wardrobe and you will see a lot of idle property.....clothes that have never been worn since they were bought six and a half years ago......what wrong with that?

I think this idea to tax idle land arises from jealousy.

People see you with a large piece of land that you are not using and the want to invent a [legal] way of taking it away from you...wivu mtupu!!!!.

And who said that you need land to become economically independent? How much land has Singapore? How much of their food do they grow on their God-forsaken island?

@bwenyenye,I agree with you,we have to think without the box!

Behind the gardens...Behind the wall...Under the tree (Including: Red...Dark Blue...Yellow)

another good policy that may never see the light of day...and lets not get mixed up... revenue collection is a good thing... government spending is a whole other subject

In as much as we have thick MPigs i think the technocrats in most of these ministries are forward thinking.
Fertile land should be consolidated and people who want to farm as a profession should be given a chance. Zimbabwe was a great example of commercial farming and those farmers later moved to zambia malawi and these countries are now becoming self sufficient and even exporting food to the former bread basket of Africa.

@ Muhika ..... Idle land is a big crime. Especially so in a country that is always ravaged by drought.

SK A.L.U.M.N.I (Alcoholic Liason and Undergarments Manager of Nakedness Internationally)