We disrespect property rights at our own peril

Last week, I wrote about the potential for land and the housing industry to serve as a wealth creator for millions of Kenyans. Events this past week at a school on Langata Road in Nairobi served to make the point even clearer: a country without clear property right laws and enforcement institutions is a country destined for chaos and poverty. Throughout the week, and with good reason, our attention has been focused on the plight of the children who lost their playground to a “private developer.” But today I want to focus on the other side of the coin: the so-called private developer.

Let us imagine for a second the losses in time, money, and productivity that the developer must have incurred throughout the whole ordeal. Obviously, the loss of the fence and other materials at the site may not be substantial relative to the developer’s total holdings. But a loss is a loss. At the very least we know that the land mattered enough for the investor to risk the wrath of the public and the pupils of the school. The investor only appears to have decided to back down when things got out of hand and the riot police, in an act of barbarity, tear-gassed innocent children.