This year’s World Bank Conference on land and poverty held at its 18^th Street Washington DC address recently brought experts and stakeholders from across the world to identify country level priority land issues and share best practices. The event brought together participants from governments, academia, civil society, private sector and development partners from 90 countries all keen to innovate and take concrete country level actions to promote development and improve the lives of people.

Land Reforms in Kenya: Recent progress

I presented a paper outlining progress made in Kenya’s land reforms so far and associated challenges. I highlighted progress made in enacting new land legislation and work in progress to enact pending legislation such as a community land law and a law to govern agreements relating to concessions for the exploitation of natural resources and one on benefit sharing as required under the constitution. Other laws to govern the redress of historical injustices and a review of grabbed public land, among others, are yet to be enacted. I underscored the need for a community land law to clarify rights and obligations on community land, given that this forms about 67% of our land. The recently enacted Land Act only clarifies rights and obligations on public and private land which together account for only 33% of Kenya’s land.

I indicated that we’ve established land and environment courts around the country and a national land commission as well as embarked in developing a modern land information management system to help us manage our land records more diligently, transparently and real time. The preparation of a land use plan is also under way. But I pointed out that among others, we will continue to face challenges with institutional resistance to change, providing adequate budgetary support and political goodwill. I further observed that the successful delivery of Kenya’s land reforms will greatly ease the delivery of the ongoing property-rights-defined mega projects at Konza, Lamu, Isiolo and Turkana as well as the Lapsset transport corridor project. It is true. Without clarity of land rights, all these projects would be mired in endless land cases and compensation disputes and either gets delayed or too expensive. Good policies, laws and efficient land administration and justice institutions, all of which our land reforms pack, forestall these.

Kenya has done well on land reforms, though a little late in time

One reaction is worth recounting. Retired President of the Republic of Botswana His Excellency Festus Mogae, who was in the audience remarked, “I am very happy to hear the good progress made by our friends in Kenya, though late in time’. In acknowledging his observation, I noted that yes indeed our reforms come late in time but, in an environment where we’ve had to navigate different kinds of competing and at times antagonistic actors, Kenya has made good progress. But I took advantage of the intervention to urge other countries, development partners and technical experts to provide us strategic support at their respective levels so as to help us maintain the momentum of reforms

Reading the Jubilee manifesto, listening to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s inauguration speech and his opening address to the joint houses of Senate and Parliament, one gets hope that land reforms will be progressed under the new leadership. Uhuru has been extremely consistent on this matter right from his answers when he was dared on the matter by his competitors during the big debate. He may just wish to prove his detractors wrong on land. And all he needs to do is ensure that there is some adequate budget line, political goodwill and a regular helping hand to the nascent national land commission and the line Ministry.

Land reforms and Jubilee Manifesto

As  noted above, the successful implementation of land reforms will greatly help in the delivery of other sectoral projects. Politically too, the Jubilee government needs to be seen to adhere to the election promises it made during electoral campaigns. Some of these include:-

1. Establishing and enforcing a national land title register

2. Computerizing and digitizing the land registry and management system

3. Reforming land control boards and abolishing search fees

4. Controlling development through local county zoning policies

5. Repossessing illegally occupied public land without compensation

6. Prosecuting land grabbers especially government officials

7. Embarking on adjudication and titling of community land

8. Giving communities rather than the National Land Commission, mandate over community-held lands

9. Providing funding to counties to complete the process of registering unregistered community land

The Jubilee manifesto was very elaborate on commitments to land reforms. The commitments are also very well aligned to the ongoing land reforms which are based on the national land policy and the constitution. This therefore makes it quite easy to hold the Jubilee government to account on the implementation of these promises. Those charged with the lands portfolio must therefore do the best they can to ensure that the government moves with speed to begin to implement the land reform commitments it made at national and county level.