Land rent and rates

Suits have been filed contesting the slapping of land rates to freehold tenure properties. Due to widespread misunderstanding between land rent and land rates, some of these will be needlessly lost. Land rents are tenure specific, and are payable to landlords for land they may have leased. Therefore, where one has leased land from either the county or national governments, they are eligible to pay annual rents to these governments.

On the other hand, land rates are jurisdiction specific, and are payable for leasehold and freehold tenure land within a defined and rateable jurisdiction. They are charged to support service provision therein. It’s however important to take note that the new National Rating Act, which received presidential assent in December last year, has introduced a fundamental exemption. The Act, which has been undergoing formulation for quite a while, provides a standardized framework upon which county governments may assess and impose rates on land and buildings in Kenya.

Nairobi-Green spaces

A happy and prosperous 2025 to BD readers. Let’s rev it by looking at the invaluable green spaces around Nairobi. I’ve been wondering if they’re safe enough. There are ominous signs. The key spaces include Ngong Forest, Karura Forest, Nairobi National Park, Uhuru and Central Parks. Each has had some story. Construction of the Special Gauge Railway through the Nairobi National Park threatened to take up some of its land. But thanks to innovative designs, the track was raised and loss of land averted. Recently, Nairobi County issued notice of intent to lease Uhuru and Central Parks through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. One hopes that this won’t adversely expose these spaces to mercantile land speculators.

Riparian reserves: Encroachment

The rains are pounding. And floods are here, threatening lives and property. Yet again! While a number of factors contribute to the threat, a major one remains the obstruction of river reserves, popularly known as riparian reserves. Semi-permanent, and sometimes permanent developments which divert fast flowing flood water with adverse consequences, aren’t uncommon along rivers streaming through densely populated urban areas. In trying to address the matter, Cabinet Secretaries to line ministries responsible for matters environment, water, lands and internal security have often talked tough, finger pointed and driven evictions.

Need for harmonised laws

GIS Guidelines for counties

Kenya was late in seizing the use of GIS technology for development. However, it’s been catching up, even if rather slowly. That’s why I was excited to see the Council of Governors, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union (EU), recently launched some guidelines that will govern the implementation of GIS-driven platforms in Counties. GIS-driven platforms, which enable the easy manipulation, presentation and dissemination of spatial data, are powerful tools for efficient land governance and decision-making. The guidelines are expected to enhance the uptake of this technology by County governments.

The road to the development of the guidelines has been long, and called for niche expertise, and substantial funding. Luckily, Council of Governors had good partners in FAO and EU, besides other local technical partners. Let us therefore celebrate this achievement, and, in addition, use the guidelines to trigger the establishment of GIS-based information systems across the country. The guidelines, with a foreword by Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, the current Chairman of the Council of Governors, underscore the need to seize the use of GIS tools, and include a checklist of the pertinent requirements and steps to be taken in establishing such systems.

Informal moratorium

For months now, the Nairobi City County has not processed applications for the renewal or extension of leases. There seems to be an informal moratorium on such applications. There are murmurs and complaints surrounding it. By developers, Architects, Planners, Surveyors and other professionals charged with routinely supporting Kenyans requesting such technical support. What heightens anxiety is that no one seems to want to take responsibility and accountability on the matter within the City Planning Department. Worse, there’s been neither official explanation about the cessation, nor justification. Such lacuna invites speculation, and, in the circumstances, the highest office in the County Government, that of the Governor, deserves to be called out.

Renewal and extension of leases