State officials pitch tent in Coast to oversee projects

Government officials are working round the clock to ensure all projects going on at the Coast region are completed.

On Monday, Lands and Housing Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi was in Mombasa meeting county and ministry officials, while Transport Principle Secretary Irungu Nyakera was in Malindi assessing progress to upgrade Malindi airport.

Mr Nyakera announced that the expansion of the airport would cost an estimated Sh5.6 billion.

Already, he said, Sh400 million has been allocated for compensation of families who would be displaced from the 25 acres of land to be acquired for the project.

“Over the years, there has been much talk about the expansion of the airport but the process has been slow,” he said.

“But the government wants to implement the project so that it can benefit Malindi residents whose livelihoods depend on tourism,” he added.

In Mombasa, Prof Kaimenyi said the government was committed to solving the land problem and would work with county officials and negotiate with land owners.

“The President tasked me with the responsibility of ensuring that all the land issues the leaders raised are addressed,” he said when he toured Mombasa land registry, which he said would be digitised together with 17 others across the country.

He, however, blamed politicians for some of the challenges the Ministry is facing in resettling squatters, saying they are inciting the public by telling them the title deeds the government had processed were fake.

“Of the 28,352 titles we have issued in Kwale County, for instance, 10,424 have not been collected and politicians are to blame. Let nobody lie to you that the documents are fake,” he said.

Some of the parcels of land where there is a tussle between squatters and land owners are Thathini, Hussein Dairy, Nguu Tatu and Zumzum, all in Kisauni, said Anthony Njaramba, the county executive in charge of lands, who noted that there were about 150,000 squatters in Mombasa County alone - according to their recent survey.

ILLEGAL SETTLEMENT

Mr Njaramba said they were negotiating with the land owners who were ready to cede part of their property to settle squatters.

“The problem is that the number keeps increasing. You find that the original number in some cases has risen up with time. It is critical that we solve this problem soonest possible before the numbers soar even further and we at the county are committed,” he said.

Prof Kaimenyi also warned that invasion of public and private land by squatters in the region will not be tolerated.

“We are aware that people are being encouraged to go there by politicians but let me tell you that if you occupy land that does not belong to you it will be at your own peril. We are not going to entertain an illegality because even private owners have a right for protection,” he said.

Prof Kaimenyi blamed land invasion in the region on some politicians who he said were inciting residents.

The CS said some of the reforms they were proposing include alternative ways of compensating land owners, especially where the government acquired land for projects.

“We are suggesting that, for instance, one can be compensated with alternative land or government bonds to deal with speculators who buy land in areas earmarked for infrastructural projects like the Lamu port,” he said.