The National Land Commission has asked members of Parliament to help it secure a budgetary allocation of about Sh900 million to pay persons displaced by several infrastructure projects across the country.
NLC chairman Gershom Otachi, in a meeting with the National Assembly Committee on Lands, said that the commission was cash strapped, even as it sought to compensate project affected persons.
Ochami said that due to the financial constraints, the commission has been unable to compensate or even relocate some of the affected families and individuals in various parts of the country.
The committee under the chairmanship of North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko had convened a meeting with Otachi and NLC chief executive officer to audit the process of compensating individuals and families affected by various infrastructural projects in the country.
During the session, members of the committee had sought detailed information from the National Land Commission regarding its financial performance.
National Land Commission chair Gershom Otachi.
The committee also requested data on actual receipts, exchequer issues, recurrent expenditure, pending bills, and the extent to which the NLC had achieved its set targets.
The NLC, which is responsible for overseeing land matters in Kenya, has previously approached Parliament to ask for support in securing the necessary allocation in the Supplementary 1 Budget Estimates for the upcoming 2023/24 Financial Year.
Committee members also scrutinized a letter detailing communication between the NLC and the National Treasury regarding the request for additional Sh900 million with the intention of compensating Project Affected Persons who had been impacted by a number of infrastructure projects across the country.
The funds in question had been contributed by entities within the infrastructure sector, specifically for the purpose of compensating individuals affected by Eldoret By-pass, Nairobi Southern By-pass, Nairobi Eastern By- pass and Dongo Kundu.
Members of committee present at the meeting requested for further details on the Project Affected Persons.