Female Governors

The new government, at national and county level, is now in place. Congratulations to the office holders. Of the 47 County governors, seven, just about 15 per cent, are women. My colleagues from Rwanda remind me that, comparatively, this is still dismal. They brag of a better record. But for a country that started with an all male cast after the 2013 elections, this new record motivates.

New government

Polling for Kenya’s fifth President and members of the 13^th parliament, along with the third cohort of County Governors and County Assembly members, will happen next week Tuesday 9^th August. I appeal for efficient and peaceful voting, and, subsequently, thorough, accurate and transparent tallying of the vote. I am just back from an engagement with the East African Community in Dar es Salaam and I could easily tell that East Africa, and indeed Africa, has eyes on Kenya. Let’s therefore demonstrate that our democracy has come of age, and provide those watching us with a good comparative benchmark and hope.

International attention

Loliondo division, in the Ngorongoro District of Northern Tanzania, has been in the news lately. There’s been a flurry of protest notes and statements released on social media, email, local and international news outlets. The content developed on Loliondo within less than two weeks is amazing. It continues.

Non-state institutions, particularly Civil Society Organisations, have moved with speed to draw international attention to the matter. The government of the United Republic of Tanzania was reported to be evicting the Maasai of Loliondo from 1500 square kilometers, just about 370,000 acres, of their ancestral land in disregard of their rights. This is aimed at making way for a game reserve within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which is said to be part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Allegedly, an international investor is interested in developing safari tourism within the subject site.

It’s just over a year since ardhisasa, Kenya’s online land management system, was launched. As observed in earlier write-ups, this system was long overdue. Kenya currently boasts of over 11 million title deeds. This number continues to rise. In their hard form, and with manual procedures, managing such vast records is overwhelming. Therefore, every effort should be made to perfect and sustain the online system.

Stakeholder goodwill

Since inception, the ardhisasa system has enjoyed tremendous public goodwill, especially from progressive and well-meaning professionals. Obviously, a good functional online system will expedite professional work, and eliminate visits and queues in public offices. Nevertheless, the immense goodwill that came with the launch of ardhisasa has been gradually diminishing. Lawyers, surveyors, valuers, planners, real-estate agents and banks, have echoed their concerns. These have been consistent and near similar. However, while the Lands Ministry has done a perfect job in articulating the benefits and services offered through the system, it may not have been equally robust in responding to user feedback.

Political promises should align to policy and laws

We are into the mad season yet again. Politicians are on the beat seeking votes. Once on podiums, they rant, talk at each other and make all manner of promises. Those of us who have had opportunities to talk to audiences may not be entirely surprised. Audiences have a way of raising some speakers to a momentary ‘high’ when one could easily drift off. Unguarded speakers, especially politicians, can therefore easily make unwarranted and impractical promises.

In earlier contributions, I have shared highlights informing that having embedded solutions to its land question in the constitution and laws, Kenya moved on. We have moved from the problem-profiling phase of our history, onto designing and implementing appropriate programs in response to our documented challenges. This is good for Kenya since land sector programs, even where restorative, will be guided by a structured policy and legal framework. Political promises made outside this realm are therefore mere hype. Our politicians should familiarize with this status before making public promises.