Squatting on #Kenya’s #Mineral Wealth | Inter Press Service
▻http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/squatting-on-kenyas-mineral-wealth
President Uhuru Kenyatta started issuing title deeds on Aug. 30, in an ongoing exercise that will in this first phase benefit 60,000 households from Coast Province. Over the next five years, the Ministry of Lands intends to issue three million land title deeds across this East African nation, changing lives significantly. These title deeds can be used to secure loans and improve livelihoods.
(...) land ownership is a complex matter here as the area is rich in minerals. An existing #titanium mining project is set to begin in the county this month. And in July, minerals explorer Cortec Corporation announced that they had found deposits of #niobium, a ductile grey metal, estimated to be worth 62.4 billion dollars.
(...) The president’s family owns large tracts of land across the country, particularly in the Coast Province, Rift Valley and Central Kenya. This became a major political issue in the run up to the general election.
(...) “Land ownership has been a persistent problem. The entire coastal region is owned by a few rich tycoons. If President Kenyatta is playing politics while improving our lives, let him,” Amina Juma, a squatter in Kilifi, Coast Province, tells IPS.