News

The National Government will work with the County to expedite the issuance of title deeds in order to address land ownership problems in Makueni County.

Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana and Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS)  for Lands Gideon Mung’aro said the two levels of government have resolved to work together to deal with the problems affecting thousands of residents in Makueni who own land but have struggled for years to access documentation.

“We have people here who own huge chunks of land. They have owned such land for years but have never acquired land titles,” Prof Kibwana said.

The governor and the CAS were speaking at the ATC Kwa Kathoka in Makueni where they joined hundreds of delegates in the county’s first Annual Land Conference.

He said the county recently launched a programme to support the issuance of 53,000 titles to locals as part of his government’s strategy to iron out the outstanding land problems in the county.

Prof Kibwana said: “The trouble here is that majority of people facing problems with land documentation are also very poor people who cannot afford the prohibitive charges being levied.”

He said landlords in most of Makueni’s urban areas are unable to access financial facilities using land they own as they don’t have official ownership documents.

The governor also decried land grabbing menace by powerful individuals and appealed to the ministry of lands to help reclaim a piece of land grabbed from the Makindu stadium by a senior public officer.

“Someone has grabbed land in Makindu.We have even written to him as county and he goes bragging that we are a small entity and therefore we can do nothing. The government should help us reclaim the grabbed piece of land,” Prof Kibwana pleaded.

Speaking at the event Mr Mung’aro ordered the ministry staff to work with their county colleagues to ensure reclamation of the Makindu stadium land.

“We will send out officers on Monday to look into the grabbing of the stadium. At the moment we don’t tolerate such acts, no one is allowed to use their big offices to execute grabbing of public property,”Mr Mung’aro said.

Mr Mung’aro also warned corrupt land officers that they will be dealt with ruthlessly following complaints that some were demanding bribes before offering services to the public.

“We have had complaints about some of our officers. I want to summon all of them to come to Nairobi on Monday, so that they can share with us what their problems are,” the CAS said.

He announced that the national government will in the next three months issue an additional 67,000 land title deeds to residents of Makueni County who have for long lived as squatters in their own land.

Ngai Ndethya, Ngiluni, Mbetwani, Kiboko A, B and C are among some of the settlement areas with major outstanding land problems that have hindered issuance of titles for years.

Makueni County Land ECM Joshua Wambua whose department hosted the event said several land clinics were held across the county culminating into the land conference.

“We have held quite a number of clinics.We do believe that the conference we have had today will in a way resolve some of the problems we have faced  even if not all,”Mr Wambua said.

Several land sector reform experts led by the Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Land Alliance Odenda Lumumba were among speakers at the event.

Makueni residents living in the coast region on Thursday unveiled a Makueni Diaspora-Mombasa chapter with a view to take a united and active role in development of the county. 

The outfit has on its inauguration donated 83 pieces of iron sheets to support victims of floods in rebuilding their houses in the occasion graced by governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana.

The community has also contributed Sh 3.3 million to purchase shares in Ene Microfinance with a target of Sh 5 Million before the bank opens its doors. 

The objectives of the community, according to its chairman Richard Kinovi include:

Uniting all Makueni residents living in the Coastal region to support economic growth of the members and mobilise resources to invest in their mother county.

Market the county products in Mombasa to spearhead the economic development of the county.

Partnering with other diaspora chapters such as the London based-UK chapter to mobilise resources and exploit potential economic opportunities for members and the county.

“We are very great full for the support we are getting from our people in the diaspora.As a government we are ready and very much willing to work with you,”the governor said.

Prof  Kibwana has lauded the Mombasa chapter for demonstrating what a model diaspora community should do to institutionalize its operations and set itself for greater socio-economic and political influence of its mother County. 

He said in the near future, diaspora chapters will be opened in Nairobi,  London and other cities with the hope that the diaspora community will create links with each other and sustain a vibrant discourse on the development of their mother county.

Appeals by the County Government for relief support for the victims of floods is yielding fruits with various organisations responding to aid  the kitty.

On Tuesday UNICEF in conjunction with ,Red Cross and the National Government donated 673 water jericans,24 boxes of water purifiers, 4,000 pieces of bar soaps and 4,000 ten litre plastic buckets  to be distributed to the victims of the April floods that caused devastating destructions in the county.

Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau who received the consignment appreciated the donors, adding that, the county emergency team will ensure the items reach the flood victims in Makueni.

‘’We are very much humbled to have so many people wanting to partner with us and we urge others to support the county in other activities that we are running,”Mwau said.

The deputy county commissioner Dr. Mbugua reiterated the same, adding that such gesture was meant to alleviate those who suffered during the just concluded rains in Makueni.

Water and irrigation County Executive Committee Member Mr. Bob Kisyula promised that the items will be distributed equitably to the affected.

When invited to Mavuno church in Athi River to speak on faith and leadership at a three-day summit dubbed Fearless Summit 2018, on Wednesday, Makueni governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana left his audience in awe when he declared that he considered himself both a governor and pastor.

“I consider myself both a governor and pastor because I get opportunities to meet with people not reached out to by pastors in funerals, weddings and other public and social events. When I talk to them, they listen and some even denounce their not-so-good ways of life,” said Prof Kibwana to a thunderous applause from congregants drawn from various states across the globe.

Prof Kibwana said before he ventured into the contest for the governorship, he pursued Theology so as to have a deeper understanding of how to serve the people better.

“I chose to pursue a theological course while still serving as the advisor to the former President Mwai Kibaki, who was amused that I still wanted to go back to school after a considerable period of schooling. Deep down I knew I wanted to be a governor and understanding self and service to mankind drove me to theological school,” the governor said.

He said many people, including those who profess christianity harbour a misguided opinion that matters of state must be separated from matters of faith.

Many people of faith, Prof Kibwana said, fear venturing into politics thinking they would be compromised by the secular system of governance.

According to him, it is this lack of men of faith in governance that has engendered the deep rooted corruption plaguing the country.

Prof Kibwana opined that the leadership influence inculcated in successive generations affects the overall development of the state or organisation depending on the character of the predecessor.

Makueni governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana on Saturday evening joined Muslim faithful for an Iftar at Wote.

Speaking at the event hosted at  Jamia-Al-Masjid Mosque Prof Kibwana noted that both Muslims and Christians in Makueni have shown unity and love,adding that such virtues are helpful in building the nation.

He further observed that Islamic madrasa classes are helpful in inculcating spiritual norishment to young ones adding that it helps them understand the teachings of the Quran.

“My administration has in the past helped build ECDE classes, this will be replicated equally we will assist in building  madrasa classes for our muslim children in the County,”Prof Kibwana promised.

The governor encouraged them to apply for competitive county jobs, saying  that all residents across the country stand equal opportunities including access to jobs.

He also said that his government will include members of the Muslim community in the County Economic Forum.

Devolution and public service Executive Committee Member Dr.Julius Kaloi who also graced the occasion, noted that Muslims have demonstrated faithfulness,respect and love always not only during the Holy month of Ramadan.