A total of 66 village units have so far participated in the ongoing Turkana Land dialogue with a view to registering community land.
Lands CEC Alexander Losikiria has confirmed that the 66 village units in Loima, Turkana South, Turkana East, and Letea Ward in Turkana West have participated adding that the County Government has put adequate measures in place to ensure that the conversation on registration of community land continues beyond the ongoing sensitization exercise expected to conclude on 4th August 2022.
He promised to fast-track the second phase for the remaining 90 village units in Turkana West, Turkana North, Central, and Kibish sub-counties.
CEC Losikiria said that field administrators from the sub-county to the village level will continue spreading the message in their subsequent meetings with the public and engage organized groups on the same to sustain the conversation.
Losikiria said the move would also be supplemented by use of online campaigns on the county’s social media platforms as well as face-to-face meetings with visiting groups, civil societies and community lobby groups at the County Lands headquarters in Lodwar.
“The need to keep the conversation going was informed by experiences shared by residents of Turkana South and East from the current phase where we were urged by communities to strengthen awareness creation on the potential impacts of the LAPSSET project on compensation and, the provisions of the Community Land Act of 2016 and all the legal frameworks on land management, in Kenya,” he said.
He lauded the involvement of fellow CECs from Health (Jane Ajele) and Public Service (Jeremiah Namuya) as well as directors and staff from departments other than Lands for making the process successful.
Director of Urban Areas Management Victor Lekaram added that the engagements will also be used to avail information on land regularization for residents of urban areas who already have some form of documented proof of land ownership in form of allotment letters.
By Peter Gitonga
