Residents of Dongo Kundu lauds government’s decision to vet beneficiaries

 

Residents of Dongo Kundu have welcomed the move by the government to halt 1.4 billion shillings compensation to establish genuine Project Affected Persons.

Three weeks ago in Mombasa, the compensation was ordered to be halted for the list of affected persons to be audited to weed out non-residents from the list of 1,759 beneficiaries.

In October, the Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Lands chaired by Hon, Joash Nyamache tabled its enquiry report into the compensation of Mombasa Special Economic Zone – Dongo Kundu Project Affected Persons.

Among the recommendations included an advisory to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) not disburse from the total compensation sum of 1, 446,715,160 shillings, money meant to compensate persons who were not in physical occupation of land, had not made any developments on the land by either farming or constructing a house and who made claims to tracts of lands and therefore, were classified as squatters for purpose of compensation.

The residents from Dongo Kundu, Mbuta, Mwangala, Mrongondoni, Kaya Mtongwe, and Siji villages lauded the directive as a timely intervention.

The compensation was marred with controversies and allegations of corruption, most of the residents were on the verge of being deprived of their rightful compensation by rogue officials working in cahoots with land grabbers.

“We have seen what the President envisioned in the Bottom Up economic transformative agenda because an ordinary citizen can also be listened to, we are elated by the Bottom-Up approach to this matter. We were disfranchised,” said Bernard Sivai, a resident.

Sivai reveals that the problem started when rogue officials were allocating out lands to non-residents of Dongo Kundu for compensation to the chagrin of genuine residents.

A spot check shows the residents’ houses falling as they cannot carry out repairs paving the way for the establishment of the Dongo Kundu SEZ.

“We have been delayed, but since the President has intervened justice will be done,” said Sivai.

By

 Haniel Mengistu