Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja held a consultative meeting at his office in Voi with leaders and elders from Kasighau Ward concerning streamlining the management of ranches in the county.
He decried a tendency by ranch managers and directors who sign what he termed as illegal agreements with grazers from outside the county, resulting in perennial land conflicts and escalating human-wildlife conflicts.
According to the governor, most ranches are overgrazing resulting in environmental degradation.
"Our ranches have now become a cash cow for few selfish individuals, they have been receiving a lot of monies from investors but they are not progressing in terms of development and do not even pay land rates," he said on Wednesday adding that the monies end up in the pockets of a few unscrupulous individuals.
"It is sad that our ranches have gone beyond their powers of operation to the extent of bringing in investors to tap and extract our natural resources without the knowledge of the county government. This cannot be tolerated anymore," he warned.