Mau resettlement almost complete, says PM

Written By:PMPS,    Posted: Sat, Apr 14, 2012

The remaining Mau evictees will be resettled on pieces of land the government has bought at Ziwa in Uasin Gishu and in Kuresoi, Nakuru county. Prime Minister  Raila Odinga  says the resettlement programme for  people  evicted  from  the Mau forest  was coming to a close noting  the  government has bought pieces of  land for resettlement of the remaining families . Saying it was only this week  when 204 families  from Mau were  resettled at  Kibkabus in Uasin Gishu county, the PM announced that the remaining  Mau evictees  will  be resettled on pieces of land the government has bought at Ziwa in Uasin Gishu  and in Kuresoi, Nakuru county. Mr. Odinga was speaking in Kericho town  Saturday when he presented  allotment letters to members of the  Talai clan who have been squatting  on council land in the town  since the 1960s. Emphasizing that the eviction exercise was not meant to punish anyone, the PM asserted that  the Mau ecosystem has since been restored since the removal of people who had encroached on the forest. On the Talai clan, he said it was a historical injustice for the Talai to have continued being squatters since being scattered by the colonialists in  1934 to different regions of the country. Said the PM, "It is unfortunate that successive independent governments have not corrected this injustice yet  it is your right  as any other Kenyan to own land in this country." He waived all fees that was to be paid by the Talai clan for the piece of land adding the government will foot all the bills. Once again , Mr. Odinga called for unity of all Kenyans saying  the country risks being fragmented into dangerous  tribal groupings if some politicians continued to pursue an ethnic political agenda . Noting that all the 42 Kenyan tribes were equal, the PM cautioned wananchi against supporting someone simply because they came from the same community. "As politicians we should compete on policy and ideologies, tribal groupings like Gema and Kamatusa therefore have no place  in the country," he added. Later Mr. Odinga who is the ODM party leader, opened an ODM office in the town where he said the popularity of the party was growing by the day. In an analogy, the PM said "the that tree bears fruits attracts more climbers," adding  similarly the attention and the venom that is being directed at ODM is because of its growng popularity  and the resultant envy  from its competitors. At another function, Mr. Odinga  warned politicians against introducing politics in sports saying it will be detrimental  to the development of sports in the country. He spoke at an international marathon organized by the Tea Board of Kenya  that was going on in Kericho town. The PM who made at stopover at the event on his way to address ODM delegates  from Kericho county chided  those who called on Kenyan athletes to boycott the London Marathon in July, saying it was  ill advised. He said, "Kenya is well known for its sporting  prowess  especially in athletics,  politicians  should therefore not be seen to be working against something that is a source of national pride and which unites us as Kenyans."