Machakos county gov't spells out guidelines on land use

The County Government of Machakos has banned unauthorised and unprocedural alteration of land and public facilities use.

It has further urged the public to comply with established legal regulations.

Machakos Lands Minister Nathaniel Nganga declared that all public utility land parcels are under the jurisdiction of the County Government of Machakos.

"No one has the authority to carry out an activity in any public utility land without approval by the Governor. The law is very clear that anyone who contravenes that regulation shall be arrested and prosecuted,” said Mr Nganga.

The minister clarified that where there is public interest and residents express a wish for the alteration of any facility, there are established procedures that must be followed.

“I want to ask our chiefs, assistant county commissioners, and village administrators to guide residents properly on the procedure of annexing or change of use of public land,” he said.

He noted that the county government was the trustee of all public land and any process of introducing different use of land or facility must involve public participation and due process. He cited the venue of the day’s event whose identity he said had been illegally altered.

“This venue we are in today is registered as Masii Stadium under the County Government of Machakos. We have no issue with the rehabilitation that was made here by the area Member of Parliament. But the use and management of the facility remains with the County Government of Machakos which is the trustee,” he said, adding that institutional mandates must be respected.

At the same time, Mr Nganga said Governor Wavinya Ndeti's administration was keen on giving priority to land matters. Under Governor Wavinya Ndeti, we know land is one of the most important factors of production and you cannot do any planning without considering land as a factor of production,” he said when he visited Masii Stadium in Mwala sub-County on Monday.

He  said the county Government will roll out digitisation of all revenue streams in an effort to eliminate loss of revenue through evasion and corruption.

“Effective next week, no revenue will be collected outside the system. All clients will be invoiced in bulk electronically through an application. Unless we get rid of human interface in revenue matters, the county government will continue to lose money,” he added