By Correspondent
Government has imposed an immediate moratorium on the allocation of urban state land.
The Ministry of Local Government said it had imposed the moratorium as it tries to bring order to the sector.
A moratorium is a temporary suspension of an activity or law until future consideration warrants lifting the suspension.
The move by the Ministry is allegedly aimed at “enhancing the administration and management of Urban State Land.”
“The Ministry therefore wishes to announce the imposition, with immediate effect, of a moratorium on allocation of Urban State Land until further notice.
“This is to allow the Ministry to finalise the ongoing process of reviewing and strengthening existing policy framework.
The Minister added that it seeks to improve guidelines on the administration and management of Urban State Land.
“It is therefore imperative that an efficient and transparent system is put in place to ensure that Urban State Land plays a role in facilitating sustainable and functional developments.
Government has struggled to control the selling of urban state land with many illegal deals creating new settlements.
According to the Uchena Land Commission report of 2019, land barons, cooperative leaders, property developers and politically-connected people, illegally sold US$3 billion worth of urban State land since 2005.
They pocketed most of the cash with nothing much accruing to the state.
However, recommendations given by the Commission have not been followed while the actual report has never been made public.
At least 431 cases of suspected corruption were cited for further investigation but none were done.
Critics have accused the government of being complicit in the scandals.
