Business Daily : Posted  Sunday, November 25  2012 at  22:40

In Summary

• Kenyans may also be unaware that the development of regulations to support the implementation of the new Land Act and Land Registration Act is ongoing.
• In a gazette notice number 10604 of 19th September 2012, Minister Orengo appointed a committee tasked with developing regulations, rules and guidelines to support the application of the two laws.

Land reforms are a long-term process. Some stages are ‘loud’, some are ‘silent’. The formulation of the national land policy was very ‘loud’ and the media and many Kenyans kept connected.

Discussions on the chapter on land and environment during the 2010 referendum campaigns were even ‘louder’.

That’s when most Kenyans got to hear about provisions like ‘minimum and maximum’ sizes of private land, conversion of 999 year lease terms to 99 years and other contentious ones.

From then on, land reforms went into a ‘silent’ stage of shaping laws out of the land policy and constitutional provisions.

Discussions on land were back to the public radar this year as Parliament sought an extension of time to allow for adequate debate of the first tranche of new land laws in February. There has been silence since. But this may be soon shattered if the appointment of commissioners to the National Land Commission remains in limbo. Interviews to these commissioners were conducted and completed in June.

Parliament approved the names in August.

The President was to subsequently formally appoint the commissioners. Some three court cases, however, impeded immediate appointment.

These were however all resolved by 12th October, paving way for the President to deal. Stakeholders have waited for the gazettement every week without result.

Their patience and goodwill is running out. Concern and anxiety is building up. One thing the movers in the Presidents’ Office can bet on is the abundance of unrelenting stakeholders in the land sector. Lands minister James Orengo knows so.

If this matter isn’t expeditiously dispensed, it’ll get very ‘loud’.
Stakeholders haven’t forgotten that the land commission had been struck off the text of the Constitution during the Parliamentary Committee sitting in Naivasha, perhaps evidence of influential movers uncomfortable with a land commission.

They are also aware that there could be wheeler dealers trying to ‘buy’ time to conclude their public land deals in the Lands’ Ministry. This provides sufficient motivation for erecting ‘invisible’ road blocks to the appointment of this commission.

Remember the mega projects now on fast track all involve public land to be under the control of the land commission.

People with vested interests on land in and around such projects may be keen to ‘close’ business before the commission assumes office.

But many land transactions, with major implications to business continue to suffer delay since the moratorium placed on public and trust/community land by the cabinet earlier this year will only cease with entry to office by the land commission.

The delay also prolongs the silent ‘scorched earth policy’ informally applied by unscrupulous officers in the Lands’ Ministry who wish to cover tracks of bad deals from the past.

Kenyans may also be unaware that the development of regulations to support the implementation of the new Land Act and Land Registration Act is ongoing.

In a gazette notice number 10604 of 19th September 2012, Minister Orengo appointed a committee tasked with developing regulations, rules and guidelines to support the application of the two laws.

The committee is also expected to come up with draft subsidiary legislation to the two laws.

Mr Mwathane is a consultant in surveying and land information management.

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