Nairobi — The National Lands Commission (NLC) is pleading for an extra Sh233.9 million for development and recurrent expenditures.
While an additional Sh147.8 million will go into development spending, Sh86.1 million is set for the recurrent budget.
National Assembly Departmental Committee on Lands Chair Joash Nyamoko also called for extra budgetary allocation for the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning.
Nyamoko made the case while appearing before the Budget and Appropriations Committee during submission for the Supplementary Estimate for the 2024-25 fiscal year (FY).
He said that the budgetary enhancements to the two agencies were critical to preventing service disruptions, including crucial government services that earn revenue for the exchequer.
In its report after meeting the two agencies earlier this week, the Lands Committee proposed, among other things, that the State Department receive an additional allocation of Sh4.87 billion to prevent its operations from stalling to a halt.
In his submissions, Nyamoko asked the Budget Committee to allocate Sh3.68 billion for the initially planned resettlements in Tana River, Kiambaa, and the second installment of Kedong Ranch, which were to be paid in FY 2024/25, indicating that the State Department risks exposure to a potentially hefty legal suit if the same is not undertaken as planned.
He cautioned that the proposed budget cuts relating to the NLC development expenditure in the Supplementary Estimates may lead to serious legal suits and pending bills.
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The Lands Committee had noted that the 100 percent cut on NLC development expenditure of Sh147.8 million for FY 2024/25 would drastically affect the ongoing contracts amounting to Sh33.2 million, with Sh114.3 million earmarked for the development of digital public land inventory databases for all public lands.
Members had also noted that the reduction in the recurrent budget amounting to Sh86 million would affect the issuance of projected 40,000 letters of allotment, which would see the government lose revenue to an estimated Sh1 billion.
"This would be a major financial loss to the Exchequer which would have a great bearing on overall Government Revenue projections," noted Hon. Nyamoko.
The Lands Committee had earlier this week met the PS in the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, Nixon Korir, and the NLC team led by Chairperson Gershom Otachi and CEO Kabale Tache regarding their agencies' respective allocations in the Supplementary Estimates.
