Delmonte Kenya Land: Kiambu, Murang’a Politicians Should Keep Off

Discussion about the almost-news events.
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jasho
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:08 am

Delmonte Kenya Land: Kiambu, Murang’a Politicians Should Keep Off

Post by jasho » Sat Sep 21, 2019 4:52 am

“Workers at Delmonte Kenya say that many of them will lose jobs if the company cedes part of its land to the Murang’a county government. The workers, in a letter to the county government, ask the devolved unit to stop demanding land from the company.

Delmonte employs thousands of people, most of them from Murang’a.” the-star.co.ke/counties/central/2019-09-17-workers-tell-wa-iria-to-stop-demanding-delmonte-land/

I support the workers 100%.

Kenya has too few large farms, and these few large farms MUST BE PROTECTED from subdivisions. Doing otherwise would lead to an economic disaster, in the long term. There are many large farms in Kenya, whose leases are near expiry. These leases should be extended immediately.

Apart from creating jobs, these large farms are very important in terms of boosting the economy, and ensuring food security (depending on what they grow).

Delmonte farm occupies parts of Murang’a and Kiambu counties. I understand that Murang’a County government needs the farm to build some amenities. They should acquire Makuyu Golf Course for that purpose.

Kiambu County government should acquire Thika (Golf) Sports Club if they also need to build some projects and don’t have the land. In Kenya, golf is played by the rich. Therefore, if a golf club is converted to some other purpose, only the rich would complain. But large farms must be left alone.

Any County government that has been eying some large farm, arguing that the County government needs to use it for its people (or whatever argument they use), should now focus on the golf courses in the county, and leave the farms and farm workers alone.
Kenya should enact a law stating that any land over 100 acres CANNOT be subdivided without authority from National Land Commission…If, however, politicians in a certain county feel that a certain “foreign” land owner should let a local own the farm, all they have to do is invite all tycoons from that county to a meeting, and request one of them to buy the farm.

If none of the tycoons wants to buy the farm, then the politicians should consider themselves stupid.

If however, one tycoon agrees to buy the farm owned by the “foreigner”, but cannot afford the asking price, the politicians can organise a harambee for local people to top up the remaining amount.

If local people refuse to participate in that harambee, then the politicians should consider themselves to be both stupid and myopic.
https://kenyaiforum.co.ke/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12002
NB: When you see Kenyan politicians demanding that a “foreigner” or “foreign company” cede some land to “settle the homeless”, or to build schools, or some other noble project, it is certain that the real motivation is that they want to grab some part of that land for themselves (mostly through relatives).
DelmonteKenya.jpg

kito
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2018 7:25 am

Delmonte Kenya Land: Kiambu, Murang’a Politicians Should Keep Off

Post by kito » Mon Jul 13, 2020 8:47 am

Whenever I hear some Kenyans demanding that companies like Del Monte, Finlays…ranches in Laikipia and other places should be subdivided and given to “landless Kenyans”, I am always shocked at their naivety.

About 15 years ago, I was in a matatu, and as we passed an expansive mzungu farm, the gentleman seated next to me said: “Now look, so many years after independence, yet this mzungu has this farm…Kenya government should take it by force and subdivide it among us - the poor, landless Kenyans…”

I answered him: “Why do you think that if the government took possession of that farm from the mzungu, you will be given a piece of land there?”

Apparently, the gentleman had never heard anyone debate the way I was debating, and eventually he told me: “You have opened my eyes”.

Back to Del Monte, Finlays and other such lands: It is on record that a Murang’a MP recently complained that his grandfather had 5 acres “only”. Do you know what this means? That if Del Monte land is available for the “landless”, this MP considers himself as a legitimate claimant/beneficiary.

Add other MPs and local senior politicians with similar entitlements. And their relatives. Then go to the MCAs. And their relatives…

A company that employs thousands of ordinary folk will be killed to settle “the landless”, but the landless will still remain landless, minus the jobs. What kind of logic is that?

There are a lot of ordinary Kenyans who benefit from these big companies, directly and indirectly eg watchmen, farmhands, transporters, suppliers, clerks etc.

When these lands are subdivided, and grabbed by the local elite and their relatives, ordinary Kenyans who earned a living from these companies will become poorer.

NOTE:

1. A few Kenyans like throwing phrases like “so-and-so owns a half of Kenya”. Let’s do simple primary school mathematics:

400,000 Acres = 1618.7 KM squared

1 Million acres = 4046.8 KM squared

Kenya Area = 580,367 km2

The largest landowner in Kenya has less than 500K acres, but so as to satisfy some people, let us say that the largest landowner in Kenya has 1 million acres.

That family/company (that supposedly owns a million acres of land) therefore owns 4046.8/580,367 * 100 == 0.697% of Kenya.

Question: Where did “they” get the figures that show some Kenyans own “whole provinces”?

2. When you read about a family/company owning thousands of acres of land, we are talking about dozens of people. Therefore, in reality, no Kenyan even owns 0.1% of Kenya.

MOTIVATION FOR WRITING THIS PIECE: I ABHOR LIES (especially when those lies are meant to incite hate among peace-loving people)

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