Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome on Wednesday vowed to crack down on corrupt land board members starting with the Ngong Land Board.
Appearing before the Senate plenary, the CS responded to a question by Nyamira Senator Okong'o Omogeni touching on corruption in the ministry, especially the Land control boards.
The senator revealed that most Kenyans doing transactions for land sales are forced to pay between Ksh20,000 and Ksh30,000 before the land control board can issue them with the concept to either charge or transfer.
According to the senator, the members of the boards do not issue receipts for this extra cash they charge.
"Madam Waziri, do you think these land control boards are serving us well and what measures can you put in place to curb the corruption within the land control board committees?" Senator Omogeni questioned.
The CS, however, revealed that the Ministry handling the matter to ensure that it curbs the prevalent corruption within boards.
"Normally, they receive a small allowance but they must know when they accept that it is not for payment. They cannot be soliciting for money."
"Let them hear me on the floor of this plenary. If anybody is caught soliciting money as a member of the land board, the entire board will have to go," the CS revealed.
According to the CS, the members normally get the 'allowance' but they should not confuse it as payments.
To curb corruption, the CS assured the Senate that she would withdraw the right to hold a special board for the Ngong Land Board. She also assured that she would send a circular to all land boards informing them of an upcoming program.
The program aims to create awareness and retrain the land board members. Wahome told the Senate that she was not aware of the corruption within the Ngong lands board and promised to tighten her oversight.
The Lands Control Board is an oversight body established by the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning office to regulate and monitor land transactions, mainly concerning agricultural land.
The board oversees activities such as subdivision, fragmentation, transfer, and amalgamation which can have profound implications for the local populace.
