President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law two Bills aimed at improving food security and proper utilisation of land resources.
The President assented to the Irrigation Bill and the Land Value (Amendment) Bill both of 2019 yesterday at State House, Nairobi.
The two laws seek to streamline the development, management and regulation of irrigation and, make land rates, rent, stamp duty and compensation predictable, rational and not prone to subjective valuations.
The Irrigation Act is intended to support sustainable food production by among other interventions establishing the National Irrigation Development Authority.
It also outlines the roles of national and county governments in facilitating irrigation activities in the country.
The Nida established by the new law has been mandated to develop and improve irrigation infrastructure for national or public schemes.
It will also provide irrigation support services to private medium and smallholder projects in collaboration with county governments.
Further, the new irrigation law empowers county governments to establish irrigation development units to meet the irrigation needs of individual counties.
Besides streamlining land rates, rent, stamp duty and compensation processes, the Land Value (Amendment) Act is also intended to ease the acquisition and access to land for the implementation of public infrastructure projects.
The bill was presented to the President for signature by Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto accompanied by the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi.
Also present were Senate speaker Ken Lusaka, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and Leader of Majority in the Senate Kipchumba Murkomen.
(edited by O. Owino)
