Zachariah Mwangi Najeru, Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet secretary (CS), has confirmed plans to roll out Affordable Housing programs and land swapping for town prisons to make room for the Construction more learning and Health institutions.
Confirming the Government’s pledge to actualize the housing program, Njeru said that a team of experts from the Ministry has been dispatched to all the 47 counties, to inaugurate availability of land to put up the affordable housing projects.
Speaking during a meeting with the Council of Governors (CoG) of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Sector Committee (LHUDSC), held at the Serena Hotel, Mombasa, Njeru noted that the Ministry is working to resolve the pending policies and legislations, as well as lack of title deeds for public lands, that are derailing the government’s development agenda.
“As a Ministry we want to commit to working closely with this Committee, to unlock issues regarding Housing and Urban Development, so I request that we have regular meetings to track implementation of the resolutions, that we will develop and agree during this forum”, said the CS.
The Chairman of the LHUDSC, who is also Kisumu Governor, Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, said that both the County and National Governments are working to streamline the impasse disrupting the activation of the Affordable Housing projects in the counties.
Nyong’o noted that the main challenges are huge pieces of government land not having title deeds and that the majority of the public land, is being illegally owned by individuals.
He said that land litigation in court is another obstacle to the realization of projects at the county level.
Muthomi Njuki (the Governor of Tharaka Nithi), is also a member. He stated that most prisons in towns are located on prime land.
Njuki pleaded with the National Government to come up with a budget to actualize the plan to land swap the prisons because there is good will from both the urban county levels and correctional services Department.
“We are asking for collaboration between the counties and the National Government to resolve this hindrance so that we can utilize the urban land to build hospitals, schools or even parks”, said Njuki.
Njuki added that prisons in town centres are in fact a safety risk to the society in-case of breakouts.
The CS read out their resolutions at the end of meeting. They included, that the two levels of government will form a joint task group to review all laws and policies in Land, Housing, and Urban Development sectors, and align them with the constitution of Kenya.
The Ministry will collaborate closely with the CoG (Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committees) (IGRTC), in order to ensure that houses designated for transfer to the counties are moved.
The Ministry will meet with relevant institutions to discuss the issue of the relocation of police stations or prisons by land swapping. A Cabinet memo will be presented for approval.
The Ministry will work closely with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and other relevant government agencies to resolve the problem of land grabbing and illegally allocating public land in different counties.
By Fatuma Said
Source: kenyanews
