Africa hosted a key land policy event…..an inaugural Conference on Land Policy in Africa, between November 11^th and 14th. The Conference, an initiative of the continental land policy process, was held at the African Union Head Offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the forum, African countries had opportunity to showcase and share their progress in land policy development and implementation. As I participated and listened to country cases, I couldn’t help flashing back home.

Yes indeed Kenya has made admirable progress in the development of its policy, constitutional and legal framework. But it’s public knowledge that we have lost plenty of opportunity for close to two years now as the Lands Ministry and the National Land Commission haggled over the matter of mandates. Basic institutional processes on the allocation and processing of leases to public land and the approval of development applications on such land have suffered. The development of pending land legislation also slowed down while the synergy between the Ministry, the Commission and sector stakeholders suffered.

There were high expectations when the Land Commission petitioned the Supreme Court for interpretation on the matter of mandate. But the Supreme Court advised the two institutions to sit together and agree. It gave them ninety days within which to do so and report back else it moves. But subsequent events moved fast. Hardly a fortnight later, the President, accompanied by his Deputy, whipped the Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu and Land Commission Chair Muhammad Swazuri to seal an agreement to work together.

When the two issued their policy remarks during a Land Development and Governance Institute organised national stakeholder consultative forum at Panafric Hotel recently, they each stated that the President-driven agreement was working. Their easy and accommodating body language as they said so easily convinced. They informed that a joint technical team had already presented a report to help operationalize the agreement. The report will be presented to the Supreme Court once internally adopted.

But pundits observe that unless the agreement is carefully anchored in the Ministry’s operational processes and the pertinent legal framework, mischief could ensue. But the spirit of collaboration and complementarity precipitated by the Supreme Court and the Presidential intervention needs to be appreciated and supported. Luckily for the two, stakeholders were generous in their commitment to provide needed support.

But had Ngilu and Swazuri stayed on to get a full feel of the concerns from stakeholders, they’d perhaps move with great urgency to restore internal order. The private sector for instance decried lost opportunities since the processing of leases and title deeds in Ardhi House stalled for the last eighteen months. Affected were sub-divisions, amalgamations and change of user applications, KEPSA pointed out. KEPSA noted that private sector investments largely run on borrowed capital whose interests escalate once such processes stall. KEPSA pleaded for clarity and certainty in land transaction processes and their timelines for ease of business planning. The plight of non-citizen holders who held 999 year leases and freehold grants that converted to 99 years on the promulgation of the constitution but without clear institutional guidelines since was also echoed.

Professionals, particularly those in conveyancing, sounded thoroughly frustrated by the new land laws. Their verdict was harsh…….that the new laws have not been effectively applied and that the old transaction procedures have remained. It is business-as-usual in land registries. The officers meant to operate the new laws do not themselves seem to comprehend them. Lawyers worry that the resultant transaction flaws could form very fertile ground for litigation in future. This should greatly worry the Ministry and the Commission.

It has been severally acknowledged that the new land laws were hurriedly passed hence compromised quality and detail; little wonder their gaps and conflicts. There is therefore urgent need to clean them up. Without this, effective land administration and conveyancing will continue to be difficult and uncertain. The private sector and professionals made a passionate plea for the government to expedite the computerisation programme and establish a comprehensive national land information management system.

Members of the National Council of elders advised that their members countrywide can help to adjudicate over many of the boundary and land disputes to reduce pressure on the courts. Fortunately, this suggestion is supported by the constitution and the law. Stakeholders also suggested that a stakeholder engagement framework akin to the one used during land policy formulation process be re-established. This would harness group opinion, synergy and support.

The Ministry and the Commission need to harness the emerging political and stakeholder goodwill to revitalise land reforms. They’ve just about one and half years to embed the solutions before electoral concerns begin to divert our national attention and resources. Then hopefully the positive gains made therefrom can be shared in the next continental land policy forum.

Ibrahim Mwathane( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it : Chair, Land Development and Governance Institute)