Profiling of Mau Forest evictees begins
November 20, 2009
Written by Alphonce Oladipoh, in Featured
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 20
Speaking to members of the press, The chairman of the Mau Complex Secretariat Hassan Noor Hassan said the evictees would be required to give details of their place of birth to trace their ancestral homes which is where they are expected to relocate to, adding that Kenyans should stop accusing the government of being inhumane in its relocation efforts and instead focus on the greater good that the country would get once the plans were fully effected and the restoration plans implemented.
“If anybody is saying that we have not been humanitarian in our eviction plans then they are entitled to their own opinion. We have not moved people using askaris (police) and people moved out voluntarily. They heeded the government’s call when the relocation notice was given by Kenya Forest Service and we did not drag anyone out,” he explained.
It was also revealed that there are currently a total of 34,000 families who are living on about 120,000 hectares of the Mau Forest.
“The other thing we need to ask ourselves is why are we so concerned about the Mau? You need to understand that the revenue that comes from Mau through Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru alone is about Sh5 billion; hydropower potential of the Mau is over 508 megawatts which represents 41 percent of electricity requirements in this country. Other than that it supports the tea sector in Kericho and Nandi districts where we get a total of Sh15.2 billion per annum,” Hassan noted.
“Aside from that, last year rice farmers earned Sh1 billion as a result of rice farming in Rivers Nyando and Yala swamps whose source of water is also the Mau. This forest feeds Lakes Victoria, Natron, Naivasha, Baringo and Turkana. Without the Mau we are doomed as a country,” he emphasised.
He also explained that the third phase of the Mau rehabilitation efforts would focus on land that was formerly handed over to civilians by government.
“In the third phase we will focus on people who got title deeds and letters of ownership of forest land from government. That is the direction that we will take next to see how Kenyans can be helped to restore their forests and at the same time protect their rights to ownership of property,” he said.
Mau Forest photo: BBC World Service Flickr photos