Taita Taveta County Assembly during a past session. [Photo/ taitataveta.go.ke]
The Taita Taveta County Assembly Lands Committee has called on the National Lands Commission (NLC) to intervene and solve land problems in the county.
Committee chairperson Flomence Mshila said land issues have remained unresolved in the county despite frequent visits by NLC officials.Mshila said thousands of squatters in Taita Taveta should be resettled to allow them freely utilise land to earn a living.He said large chunks of land which supposed to be distributed among squatters remain idle as residents struggle to fight food insecurity.“They (NLC officials) have been coming here,” Mshila said on Thursday.“For all this time they have been telling us people will be given land but nothing has since been done.”In March, Governor John Mruttu said close to 3,000 squatters were in dire need of resettlement.Taita Taveta has huge portions of land owned by the rich class that took advantage of the ignorance of the locals to apportion thousands of acres for themselves- leaving natives as squatters.The Truth Justice and Reconciliation Report identifies Taita Taveta as among regions where communities are marginalised as they live in abject poverty amid land that is agriculturally productive.