Govt reclaims Sh5bn property in graft fight
Prime Minister Raila Odinga (right) hands over a title deed to Lands minister Minister James Orengo (centre) during a ceremony to hand over revoked title deeds to ministries and other government bodies at Ardhi House October 5, 2010. Mr Orengo said the government had repossessed assets worth more than five billion shillings. On the left is Lands PS Dorothy Angote. PETERSON GITHAIGA (NAIROBI)
The government has repossessed assets worth five billion shillings as it steps up the war against corruption.
Lands minister James Orengo said the government had also revoked titles of land, irregularly allocated to individuals and associations.
“The previous haphazard and illegal allocation of public land to well connected individuals with the collusion of some government officials has made it impossible for us to initiate crucial development programmes,” he said at the Ministry’s headquarters in Nairobi Tuesday.
Among property whose titles have been revoked include the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, which reverted back to the ministry of Tourism.
Others include the Malindi Police Staff Quarters, the Kakamega Provincial Headquarters Office and the Ukwala site for government offices, Kongowea Market in Mombasa, Lands Office in Mombasa amongst others.
“It is expected that the new Constitution will streamline the manner in which public land is transacted,” said Mr Orengo.
“It will also ensure that the culture of impunity is brought to an end.”
Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who attended the event, said the country was paying a heavy price for the errors of the past and a few individuals who "wanted to hang on to the past".
“The grabbers went ahead to erect permanent structures on land they clearly knew were not theirs,” he said.
“We want to make a clear and unmistakable statement that the days of anything goes are gone; that grabbers are going to pay dearly for their greed and that the public is going to get the land that belonged to them,” said the PM.
"The titles we hand over to the rightful owners today tell the story of madness that has reigned in the sector. It tells the story of impunity gone haywire, in which even institutions that are critical to our own survival as a nation become victims.”
Mr Odinga said the government was determined to bring sanity in the acquisition and use of land in the country.
“What we are doing is just but the beginning of major interventions to come,” he said.
