Plot to takeover mega irrigation scheme land raises eyebrows

Bulldozers prepare a section of the irrigation scheme. INSET:  Kenya Land Alliance national coordinator Odenda Lumumba [PHOTO: FILE/ STANDARD]

TANA RIVER, KENYA: Land experts have raised the red flag over the secrecy surrounding the planned conversion of 1.2 million acres of Galana and Kulana irrigation scheme from public to private land without involving the National Land Commission (NLC).

The experts insist there are a lot of grey areas in the process if not properly handled could see Kenyans get a raw deal on the Sh600 billion land in Coast region.

President Uhuru Kenyatta recently launched the Galana-Kulalu food security project, with the focus of producing maize, sugarcane, rearing livestock and fish for domestic consumption and export.

The irrigation scheme is the biggest in East Africa. Players in the land industry have however, pointed out that failure to involve NLC in the transfer of the land will lead to an illegality that could be challenged in court.

The Government hopes once implemented, the irrigation scheme which covers Kilifi and Tana River counties will not only bridge food shortage but also create employment for residents.

However, Kenya Land Alliance national coordinator Odenda Lumumba, pointed out that given the secrecy of the dealings, Government officials involved could in the process make billions of shillings fraudulently.

“The project is shrouded in secrecy, we do not know who is in charge, the NLC is not involved, if Kenyans are not careful it may become a cash cow for a few to sell public land and line their pockets,” said Mr Lumumba.

Fundamental issues

He said there was risk of the public land being transferred to individuals in an obscure way in the pretext of improving food security without due process followed.

Lumumba pointed to several adverts in the local dailies inviting bids for the land without clear procedures to be followed.

“NLC is supposed to coordinate the acquisition and leasing of the land together with the line ministries of Agriculture, Water and Environment, there is scanty information on the project, we do not know who is coordinating the project while the Government is busy putting a lot of money in the project and at the same time inviting the investors to declare interest in the land,” said Odenda.

Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI), CEO Mwenda Makathimo said the process of leasing out the irrigation scheme would not be legal and constitutional unless Land Act, Section 12, which stated that the NLC shall make regulations prescribing the criteria for allocation of public land including forms of ownership and access to land under all tenure systems and the procedure and manner of setting aside land for investments was not respected.

“NLC is also supposed to prescribe the procedures to be followed with respect to auction and disposition of land, repossession of land at the expiry of a lease; and benefit sharing with local communities, this are fundamental issues that need to be addressed,” said Makathimo.

He said section 12, sub section 7, was clear that public land should not be allocated unless it has been planned, surveyed and serviced and guidelines for its development prepared by NLC.

In an interview with The Standard on Sunday, NLC chairman Mohammed Swazuri admitted the commission has not been involved, therefore raising questions on who is in charge.

“We are not involved in the process, different people get different interpretations of the law, for us it is supposed to be of out duty but everyone is busy in the project which we have not been taken on board,” said Dr Swazuri.

The project is expected to take five years and cost the government Sh250 billion to construct infrastructure that will support 500,000 acres for maize and 200,000 acres for sugarcane.

The remaining land will cater for cattle, game animals and fisheries, horticulture and dairy animals in a project expected to double the production of maize and provide for export.

Makathimo observed that there was need for proper valuation to establish what rent or leases interested investors would be charged.

“As we speak there is no valuation that has been done even as the government prepares to lease out the land, and this raises the questions of how they will handle the situation, this is a mandate of the NLC or the chief government valuer do to and the valuation made public,” he said.

Makathimo said there was need to make public the lease period to avoid previous situations where the rent for land has been ‘pepper con’ meaning that they have gone for nearly nothing.

He said the formula and ratio of the food produced in the irrigation scheme also needed to be discussed and addressed given that some countries had suffered a great deal due to raw deals.

“The public should know what they are entering into and this will also avoid situations that have bedeviled similar projects in other African countries like Ethiopia, Senegal, Angola, Malawi, Mali and Madagascar where locals are now getting raw deal due to poorly negotiated agreements,” said Makathimo.

Mandate

Tana River Governor Hussein Dado said that there were minimal consultations with the locals though talks were still ongoing to see how they would benefit from the irrigation scheme.

“About 80 per cent of the project is in Tana River County, we know little about the plans, we have raised a lot of issues with the national government, we are still discussing, but we would like to insist that the local leadership and the residents ought to be fully involved in the project,” said Mr Dado.

LDGI Chairman Ibrahim Mwathane said while the government was investing millions of shillings in the project, it was not clear how the infrastructure would be maintained.

“The government should consider having a ‘sinking fund’ that will be charged on the investors and this will be used to maintain the infrastructural developments which will cost the government billions of shillings to put up,” said Mwathane.

Agriculture Principal Secretary Sicily Kariuki explained that though investors had shown interests in the irrigation scheme, small-scale farmers would be factored in the project as well.

“We will also encourage local investors and small scale farmers and give them incentives and subsidies so as participate in the project,” said Ms Kariuki.

She said every investor will lease the land but the government would still own the same.

Lumumba said the National Land policy, Land Act and NLC Act were clear and expressly gave the commission powers and responsibilities which if not executed would put their mandate to question.

 “We cannot have a commission whining and saying that we have not been involved in fact failure by the NLC to act will be an omission in itself and they should be held accountable if it turns out that the acquisition is fraudulent,” said Lumumba.