Kenya: Councilors to sue over Qatar land plan

Kenya: Councilors to sue over Qatar land plan

Daily Nation - Dec 20, 2008 - Plans by the Government to lease out 40,000 hectares in the Tana Delta to Qatar continued to draw angry reactions, with area councilors threatening to sue.

The Tana River councilors have said they will go to court to block the Government's plans to lease the land to Qatar to grow food.

County council vice-chairman Gure Golo said the councilors opposed the project because local communities used the delta for livestock and farming.

Mr. Golo told the Nation by telephone that during drought, livestock owners from as far as Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit and other arid regions went to the delta for pastures and water.

More than 10,000 livestock farmers in Tana Delta District would be robbed of a livelihood if the Government went ahead with its plans, said the councilors.

"Since time immemorial the delta has been our lifeline because millions of our cattle and those from neighboring district use the wetland as a grazing zone as well as for watering of animals," said Mr. Golo. Read More.