Wanjiru Macharia
6 October 2008
Nairobi — Assistant Water and Irrigation minister, Mr Mwangi Kiunjuri Monday said that Rift Valley MPs had set up a union to look into problems affecting the region.
He said violence erupted in the region every election year and the leaders had agreed to put their heads together for a lasting solution.
Invite President
Mr Kiunjuri was speaking at Kampi ya Moto Secondary School in Rongai when he commissioned a community borehole.
"We are serious about resolving the issues troubling our region, whether they are political, or about wealth. We will even invite the President to our meetings," he said.
Mr Kiunjuri said Kenyans were fighting over scarce resources and small pieces of land while a few individuals owned huge chunks.
"Why fight over an acre that your neighbour owns while some families are sitting on thousands of acres?" he asked.
He said the MPs would look for ways and resources to buy some of the land from the rich to resettle the landless.
"We are not going to grab land from the owners. We will buy the land in an open manner and settle the genuine squatters," he said.
On the Mau Forest issue, Mr Kiunjuri who is also the Laikipia East legislator, said the MPs will discuss how to tackle the issue to everyone's satisfaction.
The assistant minister, who was accompanied by Rongai MP Luka Kigen, said the squatters in Mau should be resettled elsewhere.
Lasting peace
He said this was the first time that leaders in Rift Valley had come together to talk about the region's problems and expressed hope that this would change things.
"We want lasting peace and not a situation where people fight every five years," he said.
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