Land Consolidation At Last! Hurrah!

[Omollo]

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Though there are some things I disagree with, I think this is the way to go. But first Kenyans must forswear land ownership as the apotheosis of life. The government should replace resettlement on land with resettlement in a housing estate anywhere in Kenya. If this is implemented I could just vote for Uhuru! This is revolutionary.

http://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/smartcompany/Why-you-could-soon-leave-your-farm/-/1226/2640864/-/dmw225/-/index.html

[Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants]

Sounds fantastic.

[RV Pundit]

This is impossible plan however noble. Min of Agri should look for land elsewhere like in Galana, Lamu and such places where they can get million of acres, irrigate it and voila solved.

Moving people to urban centers by force is not going to happen.

[Omollo]

Difficult but not impossible. Small holders can be offered apartments and cash to cede ownership of the land. It has worked in many places. Certain areas can be subjected to some mild pressure. For example if an area is classified as "Agricultural" then no house building or any other activity can take place other than in direct support of farming / Agriculture.

Though I have misgivings, I support the granting of concessions to large scale farmers who may then buy out small holders. The GoK can subsidize such purchases with loans.

This is impossible plan however noble. Min of Agri should look for land elsewhere like in Galana, Lamu and such places where they can get million of acres, irrigate it and voila solved.

Moving people to urban centers by force is not going to happen.

[MOON Ki]

I would agree with Pundit and put this one in the noble-but-impossible category, although a great deal depends on where these "rural" areas are.   

First, there is the emotional attachment to land.    Many rural landowners can claim only a small piece of land.   (It is usually small because it has been repeatedly sub-divided through generations and families.) But there is nothing like having one's land home-home.    As an example, I inherited a small piece of land---ancestral land!---from my father.    It is too small to be useful agriculturally, and all logic would support the proposed policy.  But it is my land, and it is where I will be buried.   So there is nothing that would make me ever sell it or have it made it into one large, amorphous farm, with somebody growing potatoes over my body.

Second, a lot of farming in rural areas is subsistence farming.   Even if one has no regular income but has such land, one can always grow some maize and sukuma-wiki and keep going.  What similar guarantees will people have with these vague "housing estates"?   What exactly would the moved people do in these housing estates?

Third, where exactly will these "housing estates" be located and what would they be like?     Considering some of these rural areas, I shudder to imagine answers.   And if one is thinking of the existing town and cities, then I can readily envisage more slums and all that go with them.   A part of Kenya's population consists of restless youth, cramming even more of them into yet "housing estates" is a recipe for trouble.

The way I see it, if the government wish to encourage some sort of rural-to-urban migration, then what it ought to do is provide better opportunities in urban areas; with that, the move will happen naturally.    Housing is just one component---and the most basic one that---of what is required.   Employment, more and better social amenities, ...., that sort of thing.

The policy seems to start on the basis that there is not enough land for the production of food.  That might or might not be the case, but, surely, a good starting point would be to consider whether available land is being used optimally?  E.g. what can be achieved (and at what cost) with irrigation of  empty land, as opposed to such large-scale dreams?

 

[Georgesoros]

Every county needs to set up landuse regulation policies - cemeteries, parks, schools, public areas, farmilands, etc. TO speed up the process Uhuru should allocate money, set standards and then give it to whichever county that implements the policy. Central govt should keep OUT!!!.