The county government of Kirinyaga is processing title deeds for coffee factories in a bid to protect them from land grabbers.
While addressing the annual general meeting (AGM) of Mwirua Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society on Friday, the County Executive Committee Member for Lands Peter Kanjobe said that issuing of the land documents to the factories is at an advanced stage.
He said that the documents will safeguard the factories from being grabbed by unscrupulous people, whom he said had infiltrated lands meant for public facilities such as hospitals, stadiums and police stations.
“Our factories have remained without title deeds from time immemorial, exposing them to grabbers, some of whom have already acquired fake titles for them,” said Mr Kanjobe, noting that seven acres belonging to Baricho Hospital had been grabbed and a title deed for the same issued to an individual.
He also cited Kianyaga Hospital and Kirinyaga Police Station as some of the facilities which have also been encroached on by private developers.
“We cannot allow grabbing of public land to continue and we will go to court to have orders to remove the grabbers and revoke irregularly acquired titles,” he said.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru’s running mate David Githanda addressing members of Mwirua Cooperative Society during their AGM on July 1, 2022.
Coffee roasting equipment
The Lands CEC also noted that all the nine factories that make up Mwirua Cooperative Society are beneficiaries of roasting equipment given by Governor Anne Waiguru to enable farmers add value to their coffee. He promised that the county government will be giving out a modern packaging equipment to enhance operations at the roasting house.
Mr Kanjobe also enumerated the development projects that Governor Waiguru has implemented in Ndia Constituency, which include construction of a male ward at Baricho Health Centre, rehabilitation of several roads and construction of bridges. He said that plans to put up a modern market in Kiburu trading centre are also underway.
The CEC said that Governor Waiguru has been implementing people-centred development and appealed to the residents to rally their support behind her in the coming elections.
Speaking at the same forum, Agriculture, Cooperative Development and Finance CEC Jacqueline Njogu said that the AGM, which had brought together members of the nine factories that make up Mwirua Cooperative Society, provided an avenue for the stakeholders to be enlightened on the society’s performance for the past year.
She said that her department works closely with the elected leaders of cooperative societies to ensure that they are run in a transparent manner that safeguards the interests of the members and that the money due to the farmers gets to them.
“Together with the other stakeholders, we are also engaged in formulation of policies that guide the cooperative sector in the county and I am happy to report that the sector is performing better especially when it comes to coffee sales for the just concluded financial year,” Ms Njogu said. BY DAILY NATION