This archive report was first published on 12 June 2020.
On June 11, 2020, Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani presented the Budget for the 2020/21 financial year, paving the way for Parliament to discuss his proposals. The budget allocated funds for the digitisation of land records, a move that is timely and necessary for the effective management of land in Kenya.
The land sector is responsible for the technical processes through which Kenyans access and own land, regulate its use, and ensure tenure security. It directly supports the four pillars of the economy through provision of land for housing and food security.
Access to land and secure land rights incentivize the growth of many other sectors of the economy. To ensure tenure security, there ought to be good custody and maintenance of the pertinent land records. Land sector budgets should therefore enable the country to perfect the processes that help Kenyans to access land, hold, and confidently work it for their social-economic needs.
Traditionally, the land sector development budget has leaned towards land administration, mapping, planning, adjudication, and settlement matters. However, lately, there has been accelerated titling, with Kenya now boasting of over ten million titles. Each title associates with a set of documents or maps, making Kenya's volume of records pretty high.
The coming into office of the National Land Commission also called for a stretch of the land sector budget to accommodate its programmes. The budget has allocated funds for the establishment of a land information management system, which will ensure the digitisation of land records, their dissemination, and transactions online.
Additionally, funding has been set aside for the establishment of land registries, which will be information technology-driven and futuristic. Allocation has also been made for the development of a land value index and a public land information system.
