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Kenya: New Malindi Airport Gets the Green Light
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The Nation (Nairobi)
2 July 2008
Posted to the web 2 July 2008
Daniel Nyassy
Nairobi
The building of a new airport will now go on after Malindi residents who had been opposed to it gave their nod.
A closed door meeting between directors of the Weru Group ranch and representatives of Lango Baya residents on one hand, and local MP Gideon Mung'aro on the other, yielded fruit after several hours at the Eden Roc Hotel in Malindi Tuesday.
The residents had initially rejected the project, saying that they were not consulted and that it would interfere with their shrines and ancestors' graves.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, the MP said: "We have agreed in principle with the residents and directors of Weru Ranch. The pertinent issues they raised will be tackled before the airport is relocated there."
Mr Mung'aro said there were two parcels of land on the ranch, one of which would be used to settle squatters while the airport would be built on the second piece of land.
"The condition of our agreement is that the squatters are settled in one parcel, given their title deeds and leave the other parcel for the project... In case the airport will require more land, they have to negotiate with the residents," he said.
The Malindi MP is the assistant chairman of the Coast Parliamentary Group (CPG), which came up with the proposal to move the airport from Malindi Town to Weru Ranch in Lango Baya Division, 50km away.
Sub-division
He said Sh500,000 was required for sub-division and allocation of one of the parcels to the residents.
"We are now sourcing for half a million shillings to do the sub-division and allocation," he said, adding that the funds would likely come from the Constituency Development Fund.
The proposal had sparked controversy with protests from about 100 residents who signed a memorandum to the Ministry of Lands demanding that certain conditions be met before they could approve of the proposal.
Led by the community spokesman, Mr Vincent Mwachiru, the residents said sacred places and graves must not be interfered with.
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They also demanded that the ranch's board of directors be dissolved because it had "overstayed" and that fresh land registration be done to show they owned the land.
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