Land Policy; Ruto’s Government seeking to control the size of land Kenyans can own
Ruto’s Government seeking to control the size of land Kenyans can own through a review of the existing land policy.
Ferdinand Wanyonyi, an MP from Kenya Kwanza- Ruto’s coalition, has introduced a motion in the parliament to limit the size of land that Kenyans are permitted to hold.
On November 16, Wanyonyi while speaking on the National Assembly floor made a suggestion that the minimum and maximum sizes of privately owned land be capped by the government.
He wants the government to publicize the rules and regulations for the use and management of private land in order to enforce conformity with Article 68 (c) I of the Constitution, Section 159 of the Land Act, 2012, and the National Land Policy.
“With high population growth and the demand for land have resulted in excessive fragmentation of land into uneconomic units.
“The population growth in Kenya is rapidly growing and we should increase food production to avoid famine and hunger that we are now experiencing,” Wanyonyi remarked.
On the other hand, the lawmaker argued that the government should be allowed to dictate how owners of large tracks of land utilize them arguing that no land should be left idle.
“The government should levy such and so that the owners pay tax on the land that is not being used,” he argued.
Additionally, Wanyonyi’s motion suggests that public institutions such as colleges and national schools shouldn’t cling onto vast tracts of land property.
“We are arguing that they should develop their buildings upward rather than outwardly, expanding vertically instead. The unproductive land should be utilised for productivity “He argued for his motion.
The motion was seconded by his Endebess counterpart Robert Pukose who added that maximum utilization of land will not only guarantee food security.
Pukose continued by saying that using vacant land will assist to reduce traffic in urban and semi-urban areas.
The MP stated that more houses can be built on storeyed structures.
However, Kaiado Woman Representative Leah Sankaire protested the motion stating that the decision to render land useless because it was not being used for agriculture was misinformed.
Sankaire stated that it negates the cultural diversity of communities living in Kenya such as the pastoral communities.
“Livestock is our way of livelihood: we use cows to feed our families, build houses and school our children For you to feed one cow, you need six acres of land in one year. It is therefore wrong to imply that it is idle,” she stated.
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