Incompatible land uses

I went calling on a friend whose residence was in one of the high rise apartments. Just next to the stair case was a busy club. I noticed that there were some patrons and that the music was rather loud as I climbed up. So after basic courtesies with him I sought to know how he navigated the inconveniences downstairs. It is hell, he shared. “The greatest challenge is in our growing children. The things they see through the window at night, and the items left around their walk paths are no longer tolerable. I will be moving out soonest”, he firmly asserted. He soon did.

We all have had experiences with incompatible land uses. Religious houses or schools next to busy noisy pubs or restaurants, factories within estates or bungalows and maisonettes whose privacy or skyline have been violated by emerging high rise buildings are commonplace. Even the road reserves to our new highways and bypasses are slowly getting converted to informal business zones, usually obstructing the clarity of view for drivers and, in most cases, also grossly degrading the otherwise excellent aesthetics heralded by the new highways. And in the peri-urban zones for most cities and towns, unplanned developments are coming up by the day. It is so mixed and incompatible that otherwise excellent residential or business points soon find themselves marooned by unexpected land uses. This matter on inappropriate or unplanned land use has few winners.

Land governance critical to SDGs

Land provides anchor to all development. No sector can flourish sustainably when issues of tenure security, land use and conveyance aren’t well managed. This is why land governance has become of major concern and got prioritised in regional and global discussions. It’s in recognition of this that the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda escalated worldwide in 2015 identifies land governance as critical and a direct or indirect driver in the delivery of six of the seventeen goals agreed upon in this global agenda. This is why multilateral and bilateral partners are no longer keen to endorse development protocols and agreements without assurances that pertinent land governance issues would be incorporated.

Good land governance is key for the growth of other sectors

Incompatible land uses

I went calling on a friend whose residence was in one of the high rise apartments. Just next to the stair case was a busy club. I noticed that there were some patrons and that the music was rather loud as I climbed up. So after basic courtesies with him I sought to know how he navigated the inconveniences downstairs. It is hell, he shared. “The greatest challenge is in our growing children. The things they see through the window at night, and the items left around their walk paths are no longer tolerable. I will be moving out soonest”, he firmly asserted. He soon did.

Report on extension and renewal of leases

The report of the Taskforce on the extension and renewal of leases released late last year highlights a major dichotomy between our 2009 land policy and the 2010 constitution regarding the terms of leases on public land! The report points out that while the policy specifies that the duration of all leases should not exceed 99 years, the constitution does not preclude citizens from owning 999 year leases. While the constitution is explicit in its article 65 that terms of leases held by non-citizens shall not exceed 99 years, it remains silent on the limits for tenure terms of leases held by citizens. The gap can therefore be seized to effect transfers of 999 year leases from non-citizens to citizens! Clarity and direction on this matter is therefore needed. Luckily, our national land policy is due for review in 2019 and the dichotomy can be addressed during the imminent public discussions, alongside other policy concerns. But it will be important to keep in mind that proportionately, there aren’t too many 999 year leases in Kenya and the debate should therefore be kept objective and futuristic when the time comes.

Land policy provided for the land use policy

As we sat populating cyberspace with social media messages during the launch, I could tell that the national land use policy was getting confused for the national land policy. The national land policy is contained in sessional paper No 3 of 2009 while the sessional paper No 1 of 2017 carries the national land use policy. The two are as different as our constitution and its enabling laws!