 |
Mwingi North MP John Munuve (Right) issues a title deed to a resident of Tyaa Kamuthale at Masukanioni shopping Centre on Monday (October 10, 2016). More than 19,000 title deeds remain uncollected at Mwingi lands registry. Photo/MWINGI TIMES.
|
More than 19,000 title deeds are lying idle in the
Mwingi lands registry in Kitui County, we have established.
The land documents belonging to residents of the six
sub-counties of the larger Mwingi region are yet to be collected by their
owners five months after they were delivered by the Lands Cabinet Secretary
Prof Jacob Kaimenyi.
The Lands minister toured Mwingi, Kyuso and Migwani
towns in Mwingi Central, Mwingi North and Mwingi West constituencies
respectively on May 5 this year where he delivered some 24,000 titles to the
locals of the three constituencies.
The area lands registrar Mr John Kanua confirmed
that by the end of last September only 14,000 of the land documents had been
collected.
He further revealed that two weeks ago his office
received another bulk of 10,000 deeds whose processing was in progress when
Prof Kaimenyi delivered the first batch in May.
Mr Kanua said that together with the new dispatch a
total of 19, 614 title deeds are yet to be picked by their owners.
“We have launched a mobile distribution of the title
deeds this month whereby we will be visiting various centres across the vast
region because people are unable to avail themselves at the office. Some are
claiming that they cannot afford fare to reach our Mwingi offices,” said Mr
Kanua.
He was speaking during a mobile distribution of the
vital documents at Masukanioni shopping centre in Tyaa -Kamuthale location,
Mwingi North constituency on Monday, October 10, 2016. The exercise was
presided over by the area MP John Munuve.
The Lands boss however blamed the locals for
ignorance saying that even though the titles were delivered at their door step
many did not come for them “People are unwilling to collect the documents, for
instance, today we have come with 3,000 tile deeds but sadly only about 100
people have come to pick theirs,” he complained.
Mr Kanua however blamed land succession laws saying
they were a major impediment to the title issuance exercise. “Land succession
laws needs to be amended because a good number of land portions were surveyed
long time ago and their owners have since died. Now their kin are having a big
challenge trying to posses such parcels of land because the process is long and
costly,” Mr Kanua said.
He suggested that the law to be changed in a bid to
ease the process. “We need to simplify the procedure of land succession so that
instead of going through the courts, such cases can be handled by local
government administrators like the chiefs,” he said.
He said his office will visit areas of Mbondoni, Mathuki,
Nuu and Kyuso in the few coming days to avail the titles to the locals.
Mr Munuve on his part said he will facilitate the
mobile distribution of the land documents so that people in his constituency
can acquire them near their homes.” I need my people to have title deeds
because they will help them in settling land disputes which are prominent here.
In Tharaka ward many people have lost lives over the years as the locals squabbled
over ownership of parcels of land,” said Mr Munuve.
The lawmaker lauded the Jubilee administration for
issuing the deeds and also waiving the issuance fee. “When President Uhuru
Kenyatta recently visited our county we pleaded with him to waive the fee
because many of our people could hardly afford to pay the required money and he
agreed,” he said.
“When I took over as the MP in 2013 no single
resident had a title deeds, but now thanks to President Kenyatta’s government
thousands of my people in Ngomeni, Kamuwongo, Tyaa- Kamuthale and Kyuso have
the important document,” said Mr Munuve.
Mr Munuve said land adjudication process was ongoing
in other areas of his constituency like Mivukoni, Nguuku, Katooni and Tharaka.
He however asked the lands ministry to place a land registrar at Kyuso town and
increase adjudication staff, a move he said will hasten the process and
eventually lead to issuance of deeds in those areas.
MWINGI TIMES for timely and authoritative news.
No comments
Post a Comment