Notice served for investors on riparian land

By Antony Gitonga                                         

Investors including flower farmers who have encroached on riparian land have been put on notice by the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture.

The investors have been directed to move out of the land as the committee expressed its concern over the destruction of the area around the troubled Lake Naivasha.

According to the committee chairman John Mututho, hundreds of acres around the lake had been grabbed by the farmers, hoteliers and individuals.

“We have come to learn that hundreds of acres on the riparian land have been grabbed and we call on them to move out before the Government comes in,” he said.

Mututho said some investors around the lake had grabbed the vital public land and accused the provincial administration of orchestrating the move.
 

“In spite bringing in the much needed revenue, these investors have also erected electric fences causing a human-wildlife conflict and we cannot allow this,” he said.
 

The Naivasha Mp wondered what had happened to the original map detailing the areas demarcated as riparian land and called on the concerned authorities to investigate the matter.
 

“The Ministry of Forestry, NEMA and others should move with haste and seek a solution so that this land is maintained as it’s meant to benefit the public,” he said.
He put on notice flower farmers who had grabbed the land and erected permanent structures saying that the land would soon be returned to the public.
 

“You cannot compete with nature and if you cannot be moved forcefully and have the 18 corridors opened, then the rising waters of this lake will come calling on you,” Mututho said.
He added that the lake’s levels were rising to alarming levels and concerted efforts to conserve the Mau and Malewa River had borne fruits.

“I thank all stake holders including the PMs Office who spearheaded these conservation efforts as the levels had risen by over 7ft in the last two years,” he noted.
 

Mututho was addressing press after visiting part of the affected land around the fresh water body.
An environmentalist around the lake Daniel Karanja said the rise in water levels had also brought rare birds species.

“The African Jacana, African darta and the Sacred Ibis species that disappeared many years ago are now back while the common carps are now doing well in this lake,”