News

The Citizen Newspaper dated May 13th 2014 reported that the government has failed to take appropriate legal action against some business heavyweights and other well connected people who own structures near beaches, lakes and seas, a parliamentary committee has said.
The Lands, Natural Resources and Environment committee now wants law enforcers to arrest and prosecute all officials who granted licenses and permits for the construction of buildings in areas that are likely to cause negative environmental impacts contrary to the Environmental Management Act, 2004.

Presenting his committee's report in Parliament on the 2012/13 Budget implementation and the 2014/15 Budget proposals for the Ministry in the Vice President's Office (Union and Environment), the spokesperson of the Official Opposition in Parliament, the Rev. Israel Natse (Chadema), said there was so much corruption in the ministry that some bigwigs were given permits in obviously dubious circumstance

Comment

The failure to apprehend those who privately utilize areas around beaches, lakes and seas is another indicator that the capitalistic governments are there only to serve the wealthy and capitalists. The big capitalists and wealthy in most cases are not subjected to the laws enforced by the government.

Building around beaches, lakes and seas not only have environmental impacts, but importantly these areas Islamically are public ownership that cannot privatised.
There are many instances showing that the wealthy people are being granted permits by the government even to erect industries across the rivers, lakes and seas that lead deprivation of public right of utilization and disregard of environmental consideration by polluting the water bodies with toxic chemicals. As it emerged from the report revealed a few years back that some inhabitants in the Mara region suffered skin problems due to their water sources being contaminated with harmful chemicals from mines processing centre operating nearby lacking proper environmental consideration.

However if it happens that a less fortunate person puts up a structure on the areas around beaches, lakes and seas he will be immediately evacuated by the authorities, the same action cannot be taken against the rich and well-connected capitalists.

This scenario also exposes how the notion of freedom of ownership under capitalism goes far even beyond things that cannot naturally be owned privately. This sort of ownership tends to favor the rich and it is inhumane.
The wealthy people are being granted permits to own anything as long as they have financial power to own it.

That's why you can see them being given permits to own massive lands not utilizing them for any purpose while people in the same area have no land to sustain their survival or even to build their houses so they end up building across steep slopes exposing themselves to the risks of floods and land slides during the rainy seasons.

Capitalism has failed in all aspects. The only alternative system which can guarantee justice and equal treatment in owning properties and in providing social services is Islam. Justice will be properly guaranteed through the implementation of Shariah by Khilafah "Caliphate" state.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Masoud Msellem
Deputy Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in East Africa