Cord in panic over land reforms - State House

Cord leader Raila Odinga and aspiring MP Baraka Mtengo arrive for a campaign rally in Malindi ahead of the by-election set for March 7. Photo/ALPHONCE GARI
Cord leader Raila Odinga and aspiring MP Baraka Mtengo arrive for a campaign rally in Malindi ahead of the by-election set for March 7. Photo/ALPHONCE GARI

The Opposition has panicked over Jubilee's successes in answering the land question, especially at the Coast, State House has said.

In a statement, Director of Public Communication Munyori Buku said the Jubilee administration was on course in fulfilling its 2013 promises on land.

Buku said following the progress made, the Opposition was now "engaged in telling lies about land reforms" in the country.

"With an eye on the Malindi by-election, they (Opposition) have claimed nothing has been done on the land issue but the facts tell another story," he said.

"The propagandists in the Opposition are better off accepting the truth; Jubilee has cracked the land puzzle and is answering the land question."

During the 2013 campaigns, President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee pledged to, among other things, issue three million title deeds by 2017, return stolen public land, settle the remaining IDPs and resolve land disputes.

"And it is on track to the letter," Buku said. "By December last year, the Jubilee government had issued 2.3 million title deeds all over Kenya. This is a 76 per cent score just after Jubilee's half term in office."

He further said other long-standing disputes that have caused death, conflict, dispossession and poverty have also been resolved.

"The Waitiki farm in Likoni, Mombasa, and Kihiu Mwiri in Kandara, Murang'a, have been given to owners and settlers. Without a doubt, the title deed promise will not only be delivered, but also surpassed," he said.

"Many more are in the throes of being resolved. IDPs have also been resettled, finally getting out of tents to fully productive lives."

Buku also cited the hand-over of 353,000 acres, whose title deeds were cancelled,

to the county government of Lamu.

"Grabbed public land has also been reclaimed from thieves. As a result, more land will be available for public use, industries, agriculture and other endeavours," he said.

"The land is now available for resettlement of the landless, factories, tourism facilities, agriculture and whatever else the people of the county deem fit."

The land was said to have been grabbed during the Grand Coalition Government between 2008 and 2012.

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