Politically ,clan clandestine agenda
Mushrooming Of Informal Settlements And Land Invasions
Two days ago I traveled far west of Wajir county surely what I witnessed is purely a time bomb- land grabbing and establishment of new villages. Each clan,sub-clan is heavenly securing a piece of the pie, to have a settlement so that to advantageously crown their son for administrative post.
Lately chiefs become a fulcrum in the making interms of land grabbing, they were finger pointed as leeway to invasion, politically stamped as a way of employment to clans and tribes.
The chiefs are center stage of land grabbing- it's one of the modern day of lucrative business that less exposed- They invested in this ordeals to cater for themselves and their clans. we have some who acts as auctioneer in selling hecter of piece of land, they use their administratively oriented privileges- people are illiterate. many fenced lands the chiefs solicited for money or they own it- rise to shack lords who targeted prime land.
Politicians play a bigger role in creation of extra- villages either in favouring their closet- tribal connection or to harmonize their political ambition- This has hugely escalated the existence of unity and development of the communities.
The political gerrymandering has orchestrated the mushrooming of settlement.
Each newly made village is a stone’s throw away from each other causing a wanton destruction to environment-
This extra structures being erected everywhere In the name of village has also initiated a chunk of impacts, negatively it has degraded the environment completely, in the past consecutive droughts we experienced is as results of climate change - As population increases deforestation becomes too much depleting trees, destroying ecosystem- less conservation of environment lead to global warming which is a threat in today's world.
Land invasion negatively affects our County budget, as it is often required to allocate unplanned basic services. As a result, the county government is unable to fulfil the long-term plans as per the Integrated Development Plans.
Inter-clan conflicts, with survival of the little resources communities go against each other causing mayhem, bloodshed and displacement- since the introduction of settlement we had skirmishes that happens. with each clan, tribes to owned a territory of theirs the land becomes a rare commodity- quagmires within families.
The services delivery becomes a bottleneck- with scattered less densely populated village it will be needle in hays stick for the government to provide services. This settlement ignites a lot disparities, negatives in all aspects of life. we must not support ,it creates more harm than good.
I agree with Wajir governor Ahmed Abdullahi for lashing out the mushrooming of settlement in Wajir county it's vividly witnessed this settlement are more of hotbeds of criss- we must come together to say no more formation of informal settlement (villages).
with incoming boundary review I foresee lots of insanity unless we change the narrative of "our village" ( Tulada Rer Fulan). Today each village we go is associated with certain clan or family- for boundaries review the colonial drafted ones be used,we must scrap off this mushrooming settlement- we must mash up all in one settlement to empower the community - access social amenities and bond cohesiveness.
As community we must come out collectively to issue a stern warning or go against on land invaders, saying that ‘enough is enough’.
As residents we must no longer tolerate any further land invasions and these must stop with immediate effect- politicians go for their interest.
we urge our political setup to form tasked team together with the Land commission , municipality to thwart any further invasions. The County Assembly must fastrack a bill to protect and prevent any unlawful invasion or occupation of land.
Also These law enforcement agencies(Municipality, Land commission, Community team ) should imply to act without a court order which can give them the power to evict any illegal occupiers. Once invaders are deemed unlawful land occupiers this setup commissions approaches the court for an order to evict the invaders - we must also do public participation, capacity building especially on climate change and settlement impacts, doing awareness on Land Act 2012
If order is granted by the court, the team will effect the demolishing of structures that have been erected by the illegal occupants.
The following are areas impacted by either land invasion or unlawful occupation, forcing the Wajir West to historical chapter - As you go all from Makoror to Griftu sprawling new makeshifts, from Griftu to Arbajahan two settlement, from Tulatula on your way to Shanta-Aqal a chunk of land fenced, from Shanta-Aqal to Garseyqoftu three settlement almost all the way to the border to Marsabit - all this new settlements as result of family occupations. To end this calamity unfolding political will must be a pillar, communities should come together to mitigate further (future) challenges.
As concerned resident I'm completely shocked when I see a newly sprung up informal settlement across the county.The proliferation of informal settlements has made it difficult for us to pursue our development ambitions over the years.
Also the government especially national must acts on to stop more land grabbing and establishment of new villages- constitutionally it's clear on chapter 5 of the new law passed 2010-we must set a good pace to bring sanity and development and to end the shackles of poverty.
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