Nakuru MCAs push for issuance of title deeds for health facilities

Nakuru County Assembly. [Kennedy Gachuhi, Standard]

Ward representatives in Nakuru County have called on the County Executive to fast-track the process of acquiring title deeds for all public health facilities.

The Health Committee, in reports passed by the assembly between 2019 and October 2023, cites rampant cases of land grabbing especially on public land earmarked for development.

Reports tabled in the assembly over the last four years show that most of the public health facilities in the county have no ownership documents.

Among the recommendations include compelling the Department of Lands and Physical Planning to start the process of issuing land documents in the names of the hospitals.

In 2019, the Health committee led by the then Elburgon MCA Njuguna Mwaura, visited Rift Valley Provision General Hospital Annex, which serves residents within Nakuru County.

The committee found the hospital that has served Nakuru residents for over 50 years has no title deed and is registered under private ownership.

According to Njuguna, the hospital was launched to cater for patients from the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital due to congestion.

"Despite sitting on government land, the hospital has no ownership document," read the report in part.

In March this year, the same committee visited Naivasha Sub-county Referral Hospital to assess the quality of services provided to the public.

A report tabled in the assembly on March 8 showed Nakuru county government has no title deed for the land where Naivasha Hospital sits.

"The facility has no title deed and the county cannot claim it owns the property. Soon the property may be claimed by private individuals," submitted the committee in its report.

Another report, passed by the Assembly on October 4, shows that Elburgon Hospital in Molo sub-county has no ownership documents.

The hospital which sits on 3.72 hectares of land serves a population of over 36,450 patients but sometimes gets referrals from other facilities.

The Health Committee has now turned its guns on the Implementation Committee of the assembly, for failing to follow up on the title deeds.

According to Njuguna, the implementation team has failed to table reports on the progress in obtaining the deeds for the hospitals.

"Despite previous recommendations by the assembly for title documents of hospitals to be obtained, the implementation committee has not followed up," lamented Njuguna.

The committee now wants the Department of Health to collaborate with the Department of Land, Housing and Physical Planning to fast-track processing of the documents.

The house has also given the implementation committee 21 days to respond to the allegations of lagging follow-up to the issuance of title deeds for the hospitals.