Nominated senator Paul Njoroge has called on tycoons who own huge chunks of land in Naivasha to sell part of their land to the local communities as one way of ending the perennial land conflicts in the area.
Speaking in Naivasha town on Friday, Njoroge who hails from the area said that the land issue in Naivasha will only be solved by allowing local residents to have land as well.
He said that a big percentage of the land in Naivasha is owned by tycoons who have used their wealth and money to buy the entire region.
“I want to plead with those rich people who own huge chunks of land here to sell part of it to locals who are willing to buy. In a community you cannot be safe if you are rich and the people around you are poor, the best thing to do is to empower the people around you so that they can be just as you,” said Njoroge.
He added: “What is the need of having thousands of hectares of land lying idle when someone is looking for a quarter an acre to cultivate? Instead of the land lying idle it will be better if you sold it to those who don’t have a place to farm.”
The senator said that the few people owning large pieces of land in Naivasha should sell some out of goodwill in order to end the conflict.