Decentralise land matters to counties

A study by Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) has revealed that Kenyans want decentralisation of the land administration and management so as to enjoy the gains of the new land laws, writes ALLAN OLINGO

Presenting the report titled Decentralisation and Administration: A case study of Narok County, the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya chairman Collins Kowuor said that the land issues need a broader outlook and a comprehensive implementation of the land reforms.

The case study that was carried out in Narok County has also called on the Government to carry out comprehensive land reform in accordance with the new Constitution.

Unless major reforms in lands sector are made, the problems the country is trying to end will not be achieved.

“The view of the Institution is that unless comprehensive reforms in the lands sector are implemented as envisaged in the Constitution and National Land Policy, the problems we are trying to address may not only compound but also continue to be with us,” Kowuor warned.

He urged the Government to expedite the formation of a National Land Commission to work out on the tasks spelt out in the Constitution regarding land issues and to end historical injustices in the country.

Kowuor said that the Government should revise and consolidate existing land laws and to enact legislation to regulate the conversion of any land from one state to another and also the enactment of legislation to protect and provide access to public land.

New laws

These three new land laws that came into effect on the May 2, after being assented to by President Kibaki, are mainly in accordance to article 68 of the Constitution. They are supposed to be enacted within 18 months from the effective date of the Constitution.

According to Eunice Macharia, the chair, ISK Research and Education Committee, the objective of the study was to document the best practices on decentralisation of land administration systems with a view to recommending a model that integrates all players and categories of land.

“We did this study to highlight the practicability, benefits and challenges that may arise in the transition to devolved system,” said Macharia.

Unique County

According to Macharia, they chose to do a case study of Narok County because it has heterogeneous land ownership and registration regimes.

One of the key observations from the research is that there is high enthusiasm about devolved land administration in Narok County, but the public are sceptical on implementation.

The research also revealed that there is a lot information lacking on processes and professionals dealing with land matters within this county, and this is a representation of the country as a whole.

“We also observed that there is lack of consultation with little accountability to the community regarding land matters and that politics and ethnicity are closely tied to land matters,” noted Macharia.

An important observation that stood out was the inaccessibility to services due to costs, distances and poor infrastructure.

According to Kowuor, successful decentralisation is dependent on three dimensions of decentralisation that is political (vote and voice), institutional and fiscal.

Said Kowuor: “The Narok case study has shown that in relation to land administration, deconcentration and devolution must go hand in hand and we ought to understand that successful land administration decentralisation in Kenya has to be backed by political will, local legitimacy, financial independence and local institutions having decision making powers.”

ISK says that from the enacted laws, the citizens’ expectations have increased with amongst them being that the information on land administration will be brought close to the people; the communities will now be involved in decision-making with regard to management of land-based resources, revenue collection, planning and allocation of revenue and that the devolution now offers them a chance for community participation in the local land institutions.

“Devolution of land administration is welcome by the public but there is scepticism about the capacity and practicality of operationalising devolved land management. The public anticipates that it will enhance the access to services, representation, consultation and participation in decision making,” read the report in part.

No consultations

From the Narok case study, ISK found out that the local authorities carry out their roles without consultations and community participation during planning and allocation of resources to various areas.

“The opinion of the public and leaders was that the local authorities are inefficient when it comes to land matters,” noted Macharia.

Highlighting the case of Narok County, the study argues that the county’s poor socio-economic development is a result of the mismanagement of communal resources that includes land.

From the study, Narok residents want services such as dispute resolution over conflicts of land ownership, registration and issuance if titles and transfer of titles, sale and lease services devolved.

Other areas that they want to see devolved include; land mutation and division services, adjudication and ascertainment of boundaries and cadastral maps.

“An analysis using this study’s approach reveals that devolution as the preferred form of decentralisation; the need to empower the decentralised functions at the local level; the need for competent human capacity and appropriate funding; the preference for devolution to the local level and; the need to create democratic, locally accountable and specialised community land boards,” concludes the study.