NEWS ITEM

Make good poll pledges, Coast leaders tell Kibaki

Coastal leaders put aside personal and political differences to see President Kibaki under a united front to press for the implementation of promises made to their constituents in the run-up to last year’s General Election.
For a long time, the region has been taken for a ride with successive governments ignoring the plight of squatters and issues affecting coastal people.
But with the guarded five-hour closed door meeting on Monday granted by President Kibaki at his Harambee House office things are emerging that the Coast legislators want the grand coalition government to ‘walk the talk’.
Apart from presenting a memorandum to the President, sources say each Member of Parliament of those who attended the meeting were given a chance to ‘air’ burning issues in their constituencies.
The President, flanked by Minister for State and Internal Security George Saitoti and some permanent secretaries took notes as each legislator presented a wish-list.Biggest headache
However, the issues that took centre stage during the day-long meeting was the revival of stalled industries, land, infrastructure and education.
Sources told Sunday Nation that the President was asked to address the squatter issue in the region with many legislators describing it as the ‘biggest headache’ facing their leadership.
For instance, 80 per cent of the more than 240,000 Bahari constituents are squatters. This has forced the area MP Benedict Gunda to petition the government through a motion in Parliament.
Faced with the same problem is his Mwatate counterpart Calist Mwatela where 20 per cent of the about 17,000 square kilometres of land belongs to the locals while the rest is occupied mostly by Tsavo West National Park and sisal estates.
“We told the President that although the government has tried to issue title deeds in the region, very few people have benefited and there is urgency to speed up the exercise so that many more benefit,” a leader who attended the meeting said.
The region’s infrastructure came into sharp focus especially the Voi-Mwatate-Taveta road that links Kenya to the agriculturally rich Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania.
This road according to government records was tarmacked in the 1980s. Other major roads mentioned for rehabilitation and upgrading are the Mariakani-Kaloleni-Mavueni, Kwale-Kinango, Likoni-Lunga Lunga (links Kenya to Tanzania through Tanga), Garissa-Lamu and Mombasa-Nairobi highway.

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Government commited to equitable distribution of resources

State House, Nairobi
Presidential Press Service
August 04, 2008

The Grand Coalition Government is committed to ensuring equitable distribution of national resources, President Mwai Kibaki said today. Speaking at his Harambee House office where he met Coast Members of Parliament to discuss the Coastal region's development agenda, President Kibaki emphasized that the Government will not allow any region in the country to lag behind in development.
In this regard, the President assured Coast Province residents that the Government will ensure that no development project earmarked to benefit wananchi stalls.

Citing the ongoing rehabilitation and upgrading of the Mariakani -Kaloleni -Kilifi road, President Kibaki said the Government was keen on improving all major roads including the Voi -Mwatate -Taveta and Kwale -Kinango roads for the benefit of local residents and to attract investments that would create employment opportunities for the youth.
On land, President Kibaki noted that the Government has taken measures geared towards addressing the land problem in the Coast Province. Saying the ongoing issuance of title deeds to land owners in the province will continue, the President pointed out that the Government was also working towards finding a workable solution to the squatter problem in the region.

On provision of clean water, the Head of State said his Government will continue implementing water projects for the benefit of wananchi, saying the Mzima Spring and Marere Water projects will be upgraded to benefit wananchi in areas through which the main pipe carrying water from the projects to Mombasa pass.
To increase access to clean water in the Coast Province, President Kibaki recalled that last year when he visited the region he had the opportunity to commission a number of water projects for the benefit of wananchi including the Baricho Water project among others.

On human-wildlife conflict, the President said the Kenya Wildlife Service should work harder in protecting people against loss of lives and destruction of crops by wild animals while at the same time safeguarding the wildlife. President Kibaki, once again, reiterated his personal and his Government's commitment to ensuring that no region lagged behind in education, noting that last year he inaugurated the Pwani University College which is a major step towards promoting higher education in Coast Province. This was the first step towards giving the Coast Province a fully fledged University.

President Kibaki told the leaders that he would soon be visiting the Coast Province to check on the progress of Government projects in the region and to exchange views with local leaders and wananchi.
Speaking during the meeting, the Coast legislators commended the President for the way he handled the post-election challenges and assured him of their support in his efforts to re-build the country.
The Coast Members of Parliament further thanked the President for his proactive efforts in ensuring that the Coast region did not lag behind in development.

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Orengo: Return land or go to jail

By Willis Oketch
THE STANDARD
Published on 29/07/2008

Lands Minister James Orengo, has asked land grabbers to surrender public plots or risk prosecution.
Orengo, who was addressing Lamu residents, said grabbers of public land would not be spared when he implements the Ndung’u Land Commission Report.
"Some of these people have grabbed hospital land, school plots, toilets and other public utility land which must revert to the Government," he said.
The residents cheered the minister when he said he would not spare even MPs, if they had grabbed public land. "I do not care whether one is an MP or a minister, because the law does not know that," he said.
Orengo assured residents that the squatter problem in Lamu would be resolved once the National Land Policy was in place. He said that anyone who had been allocated or grabbed water catchment land would face legal action. Orengo also said the sale of land in settlement schemes would be banned.
"If you have been allocated land in any settlement scheme, you will not sell it until after 20 years," said Orengo.
Discrimination
Lamu Council of Elders Chairman Hussein Soud said when the Lake Kenyatta Settlement Scheme was established, 18,000 people from rural areas were settled, disregarding the residents.
Soud said that during the allocation of plots for religious groups, 150 were given to churches, while the mosque got only one.
The elders accused a former Coast PC of grabbing Manda Island in the pretext it was to be used as an airbase. They demanded that the land revert to families evicted from the island.
The council complained that the Commissioner of Lands had been giving out water catchment areas at Kipungani, Matondoni and Shela.

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Unesco listing of Kayas gets backing

DAILY NATION
By MAZERA NDURYA
Thurs, July 24, 2008

Two ministers have thrown their weight behind a proposal to have the Mijikenda sacred forests listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Tourism minister Najib Balala and assistant minister for Lands, Gonzi Rai said the listing of the forests, known as Kayas, will have a huge economic and social impact on the communities living in the area.
Mr Balala said a World Heritage Site listing would have a tremendous impact on the country’s cultural tourism. He said there was now an urgent need to follow up on the listing of other areas of interest to tourists like the Mombasa Old Town and Fort Jesus Museum.

Misuse

Mr Rai said international recognition of the site was important as it would help curb cases of misuse and encroachment of the forests that are considered sacred by the Mijikenda community.
The MP for Kinango said people had in the past disregarded the forests as inconsequential. He expressed satisfaction that the forests were now being given the attention they deserved.
“This is a big advantage that will help in efforts to safeguard the forests that have been in constant danger of being destroyed for settlement and development by investors,” he said.

Custodians

The Kayas were listed at the World Heritage Summit in Quebec City, Canada on July 8, joining 878 other sites worldwide that are recognised by Unesco. In listing the coastal forests, considered custodians of the culture and traditions of the Mijikenda community, Unesco said “the site is inscribed as bearing testimony to a cultural tradition and for its direct link to a living tradition.”
Other places that have been listed as World Heritage Sites in Kenya by Unesco are Lamu, Lake Turkana and Mt Kenya.

The National Museums of Kenya, through its Coastal Forest Conservation Unit, estimates that there are about 40 Kayas spread among the nine Mijikenda communities in the region.
In lobbying for the listing of the Kayas as a World Heritage Site, the NMK said that the forests were special due to their universal appeal.

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Coastals shun varsities

Story by ABDULSAMAD ALI
DAILY NATION
Publication Date: 7/22/2008

Although several universities have set up campuses at the Coast, only a few local students have enrolled for degree courses. “It is a shame that only about five per cent of the total enrolment are Coast people while the remaining 95 per cent are from other areas. There is no difference if these campuses were opened elsewhere in the country,” said local leader Mohammed Zubedi, who is a former East African Legislative Assembly MP.
He said the universities had established campuses to “quench the thirst of coastal” residents but it seems only those from upcountry are benefiting from the services. Institutions that have opened campuses at the Coast in the recent past include University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Methodist University and Moi University.

“I appeal to people from this region to take up classes and stop complaining that we do not have our own,” he said at the weekend. He said some people complain that successive regimes have forgotten Coast in national development. “Although these claims could be true, we should not wait to be favoured. We need to work harder so that we can be respected,” he said.
Important role
He commended the universities, saying they played an important role in empowering the people economically. The former MP appealed to leaders to help those who cannot register at the campuses due to high fees. He warned against rising indiscipline in secondary schools in the country and called on parents to form committees to investigate these cases.

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Kenyan chopper plunges into sea during joint exercises with U.S.

Three Kenyan soldiers escaped death narrowly when their helicopter plunged into the Indian Ocean off Lamu Island in east Kenya, the local Daily Nation reported Friday.
The report quoted witnesses as saying that the accident occurred at about 15:30 (12:30 GMT) on Thursday when the helicopter, which was behind another, appeared to lose power before diving into the sea between Lamu and Manda islands.

"The helicopter was misfiring as it flew over homes on Lamu Island and somewhere between Lamu Town and the airport on Manda Island, it nose-dived into the channel," said Omar Twalib Mzee, a witness.
He said two of the crew members were rescued by the first helicopter which made a U-turn and flew low over the accident scene where they were floating.
"They hang precariously on the rails as the helicopter flew towards the airport," said Mzee.
The other one was rescued by speed boats belonging to private individuals, the police and the district commissioner and taken to the local hospital. The soldiers are taking part in joint military exercises, code- named Edged Mallet, with the U.S. military in the area.
Source: Xinhua
March 23, 2007

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U.S. PLANE CRASHES OFF KENYA COAST

By ERIC SCHMITT,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: March 15, 1994

Four days before the last United States troops are to leave Somalia, an Air Force AC-130 gunship supporting the operation crashed today off the Kenya coast. One crew member was killed and 10 others are missing, the Defense Department said.

The Pentagon has sent investigators to determine the cause of the crash, but early indications suggested engine failure. There was no sign of hostile fire, military officials said.
Military officials said the crash could produce the most American casualties in the Somalia mission since an Army raid in Mogadishu last October in which 18 died. After that gun battle, President Clinton ordered the withdrawal of all United States forces by the end of March. 3 Crew Members Rescued
Since last October, the United States has flown the AC-130's, slow-moving aircraft bristling with guns and cannons, over Mogadishu to support international forces on the ground.
The plane that crashed today, one of four based in Mombasa, Kenya, was en route to Mogadishu when it went down about 6 P.M. local time about 75 miles northeast of Mombasa, the United States Central Command in Tampa, Fla., said.

A spokesman for the Central Command said 3 of the 14 crew members had been rescued from the plane, which landed 200 yards offshore. Kenyan divers and fishing boats helped American rescue planes to search for the missing.
There are 2,972 American troops still in Mogadishu, with 6,650 marines and sailors on ships nearby. Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a visit to Mogadishu last weekend that the relief operation had saved thousands of Somalis from starvation.
Correction: March 16, 1994, Wednesday
An article yesterday about the crash of a United States Air Force plane off Kenya referred incorrectly to the departure date planned for the last American troops in Somalia. It is March 25, not March 18.