Act on mess in Lands

The mess in the Lands portfolio remains monumental, even as Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu and Land Commission boss Muhamad Swazuri continue their parallel efforts to restore order.

What is becoming clear, though, is that it will take much longer to undo the irregular deals that have been carried out over the years.

Land is a factor of production and a vital resource that all have a right to access for settlement and to derive a livelihood from.

The urgency to get things done could not have been more dramatised than in the revelation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission that even the presidency has not been spared the mindless grabbing of land by the so-called developers in collusion with some wayward officials.

Land adjacent to the State House in Mombasa has been irregularly allocated and the allottees are putting up a hotel.

The private venture is within 100 metres of the presidential residence. One wonders how the officials who sanctioned this could not have been aware of the serious security implications.

It is high time CS Ngilu and Dr Swazuri ironed out their differences to enable a more systematic effort to streamline the lands docket to seal loopholes and correct past mistakes.