Mau: Cabinet memo proposes Sh8.7b for landlords

A proposal to pay Mau landlords billions of shillings is headed for discussion by the Cabinet despite frantic denials a fortnight ago by Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta and his Forestry counterpart Noah Wekesa.

The Sunday Nation can reveal details of a Cabinet memo which proposes to pay Mau landlords up to Sh 8.7 billion for their holdings in the forest complex. The paper, prepared by the ministries of Forestry and Wildlife and Special Programmes, outlines three scenarios for compensation of the people who own land in Kenya’s most important water tower and invites the Cabinet to consider it.

The cheapest of the planned compensation packages would cost Sh2 billion while the most costly proposal will set taxpayers back by Sh8.7 billion. The Cabinet memo directly contradicts an earlier statement by Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta which categorically denied the existence of any plan to pay Mau settlers when this newspaper first published estimates for payment of the landlords on December 20.

The earlier story relied on valuation estimates prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme, which placed the value of the land held mainly by influential Kanu-era politicians at Sh 2 billion. It provoked outrage with many Kenyans arguing that the Mau settlers should not be paid because the Ndung’u Commission of Inquiry into irregular allocations of land indicated that Mau landlords obtained the land in the water tower illegally.

Mr Kenyatta held a press conference on December 21 with his Forestry and Wildlife counterpart Dr Wekesa and denied the existence of the payment plan. He challenged the Sunday Nation to table evidence of any discussions of the matter and said he had consulted line ministries dealing with the Mau evictions and established that the “ministries concerned have no knowledge of the particulars raised”.

This statement is contradicted by the Cabinet memo seen by the Sunday Nation. It was signed by Dr Wekesa on December 9 and by Special Programmes minister Dr Naomi Shabaan on December 6. Contacted on the telephone on Saturday, Dr Shabaan said: “There are different scenarios that the Task Force has been considering and ... I cannot tell whether the document you have in front of you is the one I signed, but we are going to be asking the Cabinet to approve a scenario.”

Dr Shabaan criticised the media and said that journalists had made “a mountain out of a molehill but we ask you to also be giving us solutions. We are responding to the issue of squatters and you should not be making mountains out of molehills.”

“Why have you narrowed it to just a few people? I’d be worried about the thousands who are landless,” Dr Shabaan told the Sunday Nation. Titled “Cabinet memorandum on the progress of implementation of the Mau Task Force Report,” the report aims to “provide an update on the implementation of the Cabinet decision on the restoration and conservation of the Mau forest complex.”

It summarises the financial implications for taxpayers, and recommends that money be factored in for the payments in the budget because “funding from development partners (is) not expected before mid 2010 and will unlikely be available for the relocation of squatters and settlers.”

“The relocation of the squatters will require substantial funding,” the memo reads in part. “To support the implementation of phase two, three, four and five, it is estimated that between a minimum of Sh2 billion and a maximum of Sh8.7 billion is required.

In addition, an estimated Sh84 million will be required for the relocation operations and securing the repossessed forestland to the period January – June 2010 . . . another estimated Sh1 billion will be required for the resettlement and livelihood support for those removed from South West Mau.”

The Cabinet memo divides the settlers in the Mau into three categories: Third party purchasers, allottees with title deeds and settlers with allocation cards which were issued after the original excision of the forest in 2001. It offers the Cabinet three options for the payments and outlines the cost for each.

Paying third party purchasers of land in both the Maasai Mau forest, where the next round of evictions are scheduled, will cost taxpayers Sh1.7 billion if the compensation plan goes ahead. A Cabinet memo is originated by technocrats in a ministry, channelled through the office of the permanent secretaries and forwarded to the minister who then presents it to the Cabinet.

If only settlers who were allocated land and hold title deeds are paid, the cost will be Sh5.7 billion while payment to all people with title deeds and allocation cards will be Sh 6.6 billion. The memo invites the Cabinet to “recommend appropriate resettlement and livelihood package to be considered for those removed from the South West Mau complex under phase two (settlers without title deeds and) direct the ministry of Finance to provide the required funds to facilitate implementation of the Task Force report.”

It also calls for greater Cabinet unity on the politically charged evictions. “The message to the encroachers and settlers is not reflecting the Cabinet decision which is important for the restoration of the Mau Forest complex. The different voices have affected the execution of the exercise as planned.”

Both Mr Kenyatta and Dr Wekesa did not return calls from the Sunday Nation on Saturday. The Mau forest complex is the biggest water tower in the region with waters flowing from the complex feeding 12 rivers which, in turn, feed lakes across East Africa. Over 10 million people depend on rivers which find their origins in the Mau. The Mau ecosystem is also vital to the survival of eight game reserves including the world-famous Maasai Mara in Kenya and Serengeti in Tanzania.

Former President Moi’s government began large scale excision of the forestland in 1996 and accelerated the process in 2001. President Kibaki also presided over some excisions in his first term in office. The Ndung’u commission of inquiry found that the bulk of the allocations were made to influential Kanu-era politicians and civil servants.

A Unep valuation report into land in the Mau names former civil servants Zakayo Cheruiyot, Sammy Mwaita, Franklin Bett and Joshua Kulei as among major beneficiaries. Former Baringo Kanu official Hosea Kiplagat and President Moi’s son, Gideon, are also listed. The elder Moi is said to be associated with the multi-million-shilling Kiptagich tea estate which is said to occupy land in the Mau.

The Cabinet made a resolution calling for repossession of land in the Mau on July 30. A report prepared by a task force operating in the Prime Minister’s office was tabled in Parliament on September 15. MPs amended the report to state that the evictions must be carried out in accordance with the Lands Acquisition Act and the Registered Land Act.

The changes were made amidst talk of a deal involving MPs from Central and Rift Valley provinces. The issue has degenerated into a political war pitting Mr Odinga, who has been an outspoken advocate of the reforestation exercise, against ministers including Mr Kenyatta and Agriculture minister William Ruto.

Mr Ibrahim Mwathane, a land valuations expert and past chairman of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya, argues that the government should proceed with the evictions without paying settlers in the Mau. He says the government should repossess the land without payment on moral grounds.

“I remember the early years of the Narc administration when minister Raphael Tuju repossessed the Kenyatta International Conference Centre citing executive order. Well, KICC today is public property,” he says. “Lands minister James Orengo should invoke another ‘executive order’ and repossess the land, including Kiptagich Tea Estate and factory. This factory can then be dedicated to a tree nursery or a demonstration centre in public interest. If dissatisfied, those affected can go to court like Kanu did.’’