Squatters cannot pick and choose

PRIME Minister Raila Odinga has ordered the resettlement of all Mau evictees within 14 days.

But yesterday it was also reported in the Star that squatters evicted from Embobut forest in Marakwet had refused to accept a 3,200 acre farm that government had bought from them in Nakuru. The squatters said that they preferred the land in North Rift.

Government has allocated Sh3 billion for resettlement of Mau forest squatters of which Sh1 billion has been allocated to Marakwet.

The squatters say they would prefer to take cash and buy their own land, rather than being given land. The problem with that is that there is a high risk that the cash might be frittered away or lost, and the squatters would remain in squatter camps.

It is absolutely vital that the integrity of the Mau Forest is preserved along with other four main water towers in Kenya. That is why Cabinet in 2008 decided to evict all squatters, including big shots, from the Mau.

The squatters were in the Mau illegally. They are lucky that they are being given alternative land on which to resettle. Government should give squatters a deadline in which to accept resettlement land, or lose the opportunity forever.

Quote of the day: "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." - Michelangelo started work on his statue David on September 13, 1503