Last Friday’s edition of ‘The Standard’ reported that the Government will resettle 18,000 squatters on a 15,000-acre piece of land in Solio Ranch, Laikipia East District.This is a commendable move. Although coming four decades after independence when thousands have died in abject poverty, it must be supported.
But the allegations of fraud in the process must be addressed to ensure the rich do not profit unjustly at the expense of the poor.
Equally disturbing is the criteria used by Government to prioritise deserving cases for resettlement given the limited resources available for the process.
Before the Mt Kenya and Aberdare forest evictions, which took place in the 1990s, a group of squatters was also evicted from Mt Elgon Forest in the 1980s. Not from the controversial Chebyuk, but from Kiborowa, Sosio, Romromwet, Cheptarir and several other areas.
These Kenyans are still living as squatters in Trans-Nzoia, Bungoma, Mt Elgon and other parts of the county. Despite having been evicted earlier, nobody seems to be talking about them yet. Why?
— Michael Kiboi, Kitale
The Qatar land deal should not be seen as mortgaging our country, but as a means to achieving Vision 2030 and opening up northern Kenya to the outside world.
Provided the details of the deal are clearly spelt out, there should be no problem since it will introduce commercial farming and large scale food production.
Apart from creating employment, the viability of the project should also be assessed in the light of the positive environment and conservation effects it will generate.
Similar projects like the Dominion Farm in Nyanza Province have benefited the local inhabitants and should be extended to cover the flood regions of Budalang’i or the River Nzoia basin, which is suitable for rice growing and fish farming.
As Kenya hopes to become a business processing and outsourcing hub, we should also consider leasing out some of our arid and semi-arid areas for commercial farming and large scale ranching.
We should make the land fruitful, and if the Qataris have the resources to do this, so be it. It may eventually turn out to be a blessing in disguise because of the technology transfer that will take place.
— Paul Gesimba, Nairobi
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join