KENYA : President William Ruto on Thursday, February 6, presided over the issuance of Title Deeds to residents of Garissa Township in Garissa County during his ongoing tour of the Northern Kenya Region.
The head or state, issued Two thousand Nine hundred and Twenty Three (2,923) titles covering five (5) blocks within Garisa municipality (township), with the Expected number of titles upon completion being 7,500.
Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to providing efficient services to Kenyans.
She stated that the government is processing six additional unregistered community lands in Garissa that the County government has submitted for gazettement and urged beneficiaries to use their title deeds responsibly, cautioning against indiscriminate land sales.
"Since independence, only 3,000 title deeds had been issued in Garissa. Today, we are issuing another 3,000 for Garissa Township, with 4,500 more currently being processed," Wahome announced.
She emphasized that land titling plays a vital role in securing ownership, enabling transactions, and facilitating access to credit, ultimately driving economic growth and reducing poverty.
The issuance of title deeds is also expected to enhance security and promote cohesion by addressing longstanding land disputes stemming from unclear ownership rights.
Ruto, also Opened a new passport office in Garissa town, which will also offer other Immigration services in line with the policy of ensuring all citizens have equal access to government services.
Ruto said the opening of the office was also a fulfillment of his administration electoral pledge to restore passport printing services after they were stopped in 2014.
Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok said the reopening of the Garissa office and the elimination of vetting for national ID cards applicants for residents of border counties will promote fairness and equality in access to identity and registration documents.
He said with the stoppage of vetting, the Garissa Immigration office was expected to witness a high demand for passports applications.
“Yesterday (Wednesday) in Wajir, the President signed a proclamation vacating vetting for ID cards in North Eastern region and other border counties. With the new Immigration office in Garisa, we believe eligible applicants will flock in big numbers to apply for passports and other services,” he said
Garissa and other regional offices ceased issuing passports to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommendations for centralized printing of passports and other travel documents to reinforce their security from forgery and other manipulations.
However, the State Department of Immigration Administration said that the investments in a modern and integrated e-Passport Management System has enabled the Directorate of Immigration to decentralize passport application process while adhering to ICAO and other global passport security guidelines.
Besides Garissa county, the new Immigration office will offer convenience to Mandera, Wajir and parts of Tana River, Lamu, Kitui and Isiolo counties saving applicants expenses in transport and time currently spent accessing services in Nairobi and other regional offices.
Garissa becomes the 10th passport application centre in Kenya and the third to be opened by President Ruto after Kericho and Bungoma.
