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County Holds Land Clinics to Empower Residents on farm utilisation

The Kisii county government in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the Digital Land Governance programme, has organised land clinics to educate residents on land use, planning and land governance.

Speaking during a land clinic at Kisii Central sub county, the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Grace Nyarango urged the residents to follow the laid-down procedures when conducting land transactions to avert long-term court battles that arise from shoddy dealings.

“The courts in this region are handling land cases that can be avoided if those purchasing and selling the pieces of land adhere to the defined procedures before making final transactions,” noted Nyarango.

The CECM encouraged those purchasing land to involve surveyors, planners and the community during the initial process to avoid being duped.

She also discouraged land subdivisions, saying there is a need to undertake extensive sensitization and awareness on its negative effects.

Further, Nyarango said the land clinics will be cascaded to all sub-counties and called on residents to attend them whenever they are called upon so that they are informed and educated on land matters.

The County Land Registrar, Charles Ayienda, decried the increased encroachment on public land by individuals who claimed they have been awarded land leases.

“Unfortunately, we have private owners of public utilities, and the majority of the leases they have did not go through the normal legal process,” said Ayienda.

Notably, the National Land Commission’s Director of Land Use Planning, Charles Kagema, affirmed that public land within Kisii must be protected and the citizens must ensure no grabbing of public land.

Kagema noted they have a comprehensive inventory of all public land within Kisii, and citizens are free to visit the Commission’s Kisii office for advice and report any fraudulent issue regarding land.

Similarly, the President of Kenya Institute of Planners, Fawcett Komollo, called on developers to consult relevant offices when coming up with development projects.

Mr. Komollo encouraged the residents to make payments via authorized accounts and report suspicious land deals within the region.

He noted that Kisii is recording uncontrolled land fragmentation due to the rapid population growth in rural areas eating into agricultural land, weak implementation of land use plans, and lack of interlinkages and coordination between regulatory agencies.

During the clinics, the residents were also sensitized on physical land use planning process, development control processes, land transfer and succession matters, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, and procedures required during the acquisition of title deeds.

By Mercy Osongo

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