The national government has been urged to fast track issuance of title deeds to academic institutions to prevent encroachment.
Speaking during the launch of a digital land registry in Mbale Wednesday, Vihiga Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo lamented that the process of issuing academic institutions with titles has gone at a snail’s pace, a scenario being capitalized on by land grabbers to encroach on public land.
“Issuance of title deeds to many schools has taken quite some time and its time relevant stakeholders expedite the process to save public land from encroachers,” he lamented.
Since there is a good number of youth who have specialized in geospatial technology in Vihiga, Ottichilo urged the national government to consider absorbing them on internship basis saying that their contribution will be essential towards ensuring proper and maximum use of the equipment.
“Having the equipment is one area and having the capacity or manpower to help operate the equipment is another aspect,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Governor urged the department of lands and physical planning to ensure that all the original records showing ownership of land in Vihiga are retrieved from Kakamega, before official kick-off of the digitization process to prevent loss of vital land data.
While referring to the ownership dispute of Maseno being witnessed between Kisumu and Vihiga counties, Ottichilo urged Independent, Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and National Land Commission to ensure that the county border issues are resolved with urgency to prevent escalation of possible border disputes.
In the same breath, Ottichilo also called for speedy allocation of title deeds to individuals who were relocated to Kibiri Forest at Shaviringa from Mbale where the county and national government offices were constructed.
Western Regional Commissioner Anne Ng’etich present during the function beseeched public servants to ensure effective service delivery outlining commitment as a major driving force.
“As much as digitization of government services is essential in the modern era, commitment to serve comes on top. Therefore, I call upon government officers to be steadfast in service delivery,” she said.
The County Commissioner Ochillo Oyugi welcomed the installation of the state of art equipment saying that once put into use, administration of land issues will be enhanced.
Also present during the launch were the Chief Administrative Secretary Ministry of Land and Physical Planning Alex Mburi and the Vice-Chair Kenya National Land Commission Getrude Nduku Nguku.
By Isaiah Nayika
