Chelimo Land Squatters in Kericho to be Settled and issued with title deeds, Physical Planning discloses

Kericho,

Thursday, December 7, 2023

KNA by Dominic Cheres

The State Department of Lands and Physical planning is in the process of carrying out Land use plans and survey works at the Chelimo land in the outskirts of Kericho town ahead of actual settling of hundreds of squatters and other land allottees of the land before the end of this financial year.

Speaking to KNA at the Kericho County Commissioners offices after having a meeting with a team who were enumerating the squatters in the physical identification of the beneficiaries by the County government of Kericho in conjunction with the National Government Administration Officers (NGAO), the acting National Director of Physical Planning Dr Peris Mangira said that they are in Kericho under the invitation of the Kericho County government to assist the County in resolving issues in Chelimo land in Kericho.

Dr Mangira said one of the issues was to support the County in preparing of the Land use plan, saying that Chelimo does not have a land use plan and the people who are squatting in the land have no water, there is no plan that is guiding what they do and they do not have ownership documents. So, we have come in to prepare land use plan and subsequently do survey and thereafter do titling, she added.

The work will be supported by the state department of lands and physical planning and the end result of the works is to have the beneficiaries issued with titles. The beneficiaries we have in mind are those ones that have been identified by the County government working together with the provincial administration the NGAO, Dr Mangira said.

“There are two sets of beneficiaries, those squatters who are squatting at Chelimo currently and then there is the other team that have interest in the land with some having titles while others have allotment letters. We are happy that the County government has constituted a team to enumerate the squatters where another team is doing a list of those who have ownership documents.”

“This morning we have met with the team who were enumerating the squatters and are now finalizing their report and whatever the enumeration list that has come from them and is certified by the County is the final list we will use.,” Dr Mangira explained.

 “We will use the numbers to prepare a plan that provides for plots of sizes that have been agreed on, we are also meeting a team that has interest on that land, those with titles and letters of allotment on the land. This is a task force that has been put in place to get the documentations and do the list because we also need to know how many they are”, Dr Mangira stated.

 “As of now we don’t have any numbers we are working on, we are relying on this task forces and teams and that have been set up and we will be guided by the numbers that they have generated and what we want to do is to ensure that fairness and justice is done and what is due to the rightful persons is going to be done and we will do our plans and surveys and issues of titling depending on verified lists and verified persons,” she said.

She added that preparations of land use and survey work has now started and will continue in part of December covering January and then the national Lands Commission will move in the allocation of plots before the end of this financial year and the whole process including titling will have been concluded.

Courtesy; KNA