The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Lands was yesterday puzzled by why the State Department for Lands was underfunded yet it generates more than Sh13 billion in revenue each year.
The committee led by North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko held a meeting with senior staff members of the department who were led by Principal Secretary Generali Nixon Korir in Mombasa.
The MPs said there was an urgent need for intervention because they need to review why a State department that collects huge revenue will be given allocations that are inadequate to its mandate.
The PS said the department generates more than Sh13 billion while working under budgetary constraints and will be in a position to collect much more if the necessary funding was availed.
“This ministry generates a lot of revenue but revenue generation is usually dependent on the input. It is in the interest of the Government that more resources are put in the State Department so that it can even triple the revenue it collects,” said the PS when he briefed the MPs at the Whitesands hotel in Mombasa yesterday evening.
Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda said there was need for a quick intervention because the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning needs to be given funding equal to the work it does.
“A department that collects more than Sh13 billion cannot get even Sh5 billion from the Treasury. The way we allocate our budget needs a quick review,” said the MP.
The MP's remarks were after a presentation by senior officials showed the glaring disparities that lead to constraints as the department strives to provide services to Kenyans.
The chairman of the committee said the Department should be allocated funds that correspond with the amount of work it performs.
"You should get something appropriate to the work you do," said Hon Nyamoko.
The overall objective of the meeting between the Department and the MPs was to apprise the committee of the progress and challenges faced by the department in its mandate.
Department officials briefed MPs on the status of the work in their sections, with MPs showing keenness to know the status of the progress of the digitization programme.
PS Korir said land was at the center of all economic activities and that was why the department should be given sufficient budgetary allocation.
“Secure access to land, sustainable land use planning and equitable distribution of land remain immensely important for food security, employment creation and the socio-economic development of the country,” said the PS when he addressed the opening of the briefing session.
The committee was briefed on the progress made in the digitization of land records as well as the digitalization of land management information through the Ardhisasa portal which will allow the public access services offered by the Department.
The committee also held a session with the National Lands Commission.
