MPs decry slow compensation of persons displaced by State projects

The National Assembly Committee on Lands has decried the slow compensation pace of persons displaced by government-undertaken  projects such as construction of roads and other strategic infrastructure.

The MPs led by committee chairperson and North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko raised these concerns during a meeting with officials from the National Land Commission (NLC) for review of the 2025 Budget Policy Statement (BPS).

Kitui South MP Rachael Nyamai kicked off the storm by citing an example of persons displaced by the construction of Kibwezi- Mutumo Road in Kitui County who were yet to be compensated seven years since the commissioning of the project by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, when several households voluntarily vacated their land to pave way for the project.

The MP noted that several elderly persons have even passed on while still awaiting their compensation, while many households have been plunged into poverty with some unable to pay huge medical bills for chronically ill family members.

NLC officials led by the chairperson Gershom Otachi and CEO Kabale Tache said several other compensations were pending due to unavailability of funds and the failure by other state agencies including the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) to release the necessary funds with several court cases still ongoing regarding  ownership of some parcels of land due for compensation.

Kabale cited an incident related to the Kibwezi- Mutumo Road where an elderly lady who still awaiting compensation was due to travel to India for specialised cancer treatment but was yet to receive her compensation.

“People come to NLC expecting their compensation then when they get there we have no money to compensate them. It is very disheartening that even in the case of that elderly lady, we had to go out of our way to pay her medical bill. She came there several times. I cannot even tell if she is still alive” recounted Kabale.

In the BPS, the NLC budget ceiling in the coming financial year  2025/2026 has been capped at Kshs. 3.01 billion, which is an increase of 69.1 per cent compared to the allocation of Ksh 1.78 billion in the 2024/2025 FY.

The committee raised concerns on delayed completion of settlement of the landless, indicating that the project is currently at 13 per cent to completion despite the project utilising a total of Ksh 4.41 billion in the last three financial years.

NLC defended itself deflecting the blame to the bureaucracy sorounding release of the funds from other state agencies that undertake the development projects.

Committee members noted that there was a need for legislation to detach the compensation process from the bureaucracy of other state agencies.

Earlier, the Committee also met Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir to discuss the proposed allocation of Ksh 8.8 billion to the State Department. The amount represents an increase of 35.8 per cent compared to the allocation of Ksh 6.5 billion in the 2024/2025 FY.

There had earlier been confusion during the meeting after the State Department’s figures appeared to differ with those on the BPS prompting the committee to call an officer from the National Treasury.

The Treasury official clarified that the State Department was well within the ceiling as projected by the National Treasury in the BPS submitted to Parliament.

The BPS is a crucial government policy document that sets out the broad strategic priorities and policy goals that will guide the National and County Governments in preparation of their Budgets for the next Financial Year (2025/2026) and over the medium term.

The committee will retreat to draft its Report on the BPS which the committee chair will defend before the Liaison Committee that is processing the 2025 BPS owing to the pending reconstitution of the Budget and Appropriations Committee.

The Liaison Committee will subsequently table a Report in the House after meeting all the State Departments for debate and approval.