|
|
Kenya: Sisal Firm May Pay Villagers
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Nation (Nairobi)
10 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Jonathan Manyindo
Nairobi
Residents of Singila and Majengo in Taita district could be compensated for economic and socio-cultural losses by a local sisal company if a report released last week is adopted by the government.
The report is based on a survey carried out by Geomatics Services, a private land survey company. It recommends that the government should determine boundary beacons between the Teita Sisal Estate and Majengo and Singila trust land.
Geomatics Chief Executive Prof John Obel said the dispute between the farm and the villagers was created by the alleged removal of the original beacons.
"We have surveyed the land using the latest technology and established where the beacons are situated, but what we want now is a court order to allow us to plant them again," he said in the report.
The survey was prompted by friction between the farm and the villagers who have resisted eviction orders issued.
Challenged it
Prof Obel said in Mwatate on Friday that from their findings some of the land currently occupied by sisal plantation could not be found in the ministry of Lands records.
"We have filed this report in the High Court Mombasa since 2006 but to date the estate has not challenged it," he said.
Since they have not been able to prove us wrong, he said, the residents have the right to believe that the report is correct.
He raised concern over sub-division of some land to create to more plots, later issued to unknown holders.
Two weeks ago, eight civic leaders led by Taita Taveta County Council chairman Laban Tole tried to address a meeting at Singila but were dispersed by police who said the meeting was illegal.
|
Last year the government promised to buy the land to settle squatters.
However the sisal estate chairman Mr Alexander Kyriaz in his affidavit accused the land tribunal in Mwatate of taking sides "to favour the invaders."
He said if the squatters were allowed to occupy the 500 acres where they have already constructed temporary structures, his estate was likely to suffer a Sh30 million loss. He said the land supports more than 2,000 workers who have about 15,000 dependants.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
