By WAINAINA NDUNG’U

President Mwai Kibaki has urgead Kenyans living in areas earmarked for Vision 2030 cities not to hoard land for speculative purposes.

Speaking in Isiolo on Saturday, the president warned residents against opposing planned developments of Isiolo resort city.

Instead, he urged them to develop their properties to take advantage of new opportunities.

Kibaki said those hoarding land for speculative purposes would loose out since there was plenty of land in the area for investors.

tourism cities
Apart from the Isiolo resort city, other proposed Vision 2030 cities are set for Lamu which will be Kenya’s second port city, Konza which is set to be a new techno city and a brand new tourism city on the shores of Lake Turkana.

“Nobody will have the power to determine how land prices move here because there is plenty of alternative land for investors. Such a strategy can only work in areas of population intensity such as Othaya,” the president told cheering Isiolo residents.

He was cheered widely when he told the residents they were sitting on a goldmine and should take advantage of the new strategic junction town with convergence of roads, rail and oil pipelines from Lamu port, Nairobi Ethiopia and Sudan.

eliminate banditry
“We are not talking of planning for these things. We have people already committed for these projects,” said the president.

He also instructed the regular and administration police to intensify patrols to eliminate banditry, cattle rustling and other criminal activities.

He gave the assurance minutes after Bishop Ireri of the Catholic church said over 100 people had died in clashes between different communities in the area in the recent past.

“Many others have been injured, learning has been disrupted and we have over 1000 Internally Displaced Persons in Isiolo County,” said Ireri.

Internal Security Minister, George Saitoti said community policing and peace and reconciliation meetings brokered by the Isiolo District Peace Committee, had led to reduction of the tribal violence.

The president also agreed to a request by the Isiolo Catholic Diocese for a piece of land to build a university saying the government in collaboration with the Isiolo County Council will identify the piece of land.