This archive report was first published on 9 January 2020.
Kenya is set to establish a land bank to facilitate the acquisition of public land for development projects. The initiative, which has been deemed urgent, aims to reduce the time it takes for the government to issue land to investors and resolve issues related to land ownership and management.
Lands Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri stated that the process has been marked as urgent and is billed as the solution that will cut the time it takes for government to issue land to public/private pacts. He further emphasized that his ministry's agenda is to hasten housing development through fast-tracking processes of title deeds, developing infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods, and opening up land for housing development alongside inviting private developers to partner with the government through private-public partnerships.
According to Muraguri, the ministry is partnering with the National Lands Commission (NLC) and all ministries that are custodians of public land to establish an updated land data bank. He cited several public institutions that hold more land than they require, including the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya Railways, Portland Cement, Numerical Machining Complex, the International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya Prisons, universities, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
Muraguri stated that once negotiations with investors seeking land to host their projects get underway, it becomes tasking to acquire such land. He added that they run into court cases, and in other instances, politics erupt with squatters and other forces accusing the government of attempting to displace people from their settlements.
Establishing a national land bank will support the Big Four Agenda — rejuvenation of the agricultural sector, establishment of value addition villages, improved healthcare, and attaining food security — of the government. NLC member Esther Murugi emphasized that the joint cooperation will facilitate carrying out a sensitization programme to relevant government departments since 'land banking is not a familiar concept to land administrators and managers of public land, whether at national or county level.'
She stated that the guideline to establishing the land bank in the country has been in abeyance since 1999 when the National Land Policy (Session paper 3) was adopted by the cabinet. Murugi added that the process has not had any urgency since not many officers in the country know how it works.
She called on the Lands ministry to preside over legislation to guide the process of acquiring land considering that purchased land may have to be released to investors at attractive rates. Council of Governors' Deputy Chair Mwangi wa Iria stated that the move will be supported by all governors.
He emphasized that critical elements that guarantee successful implementation of land bank initiatives will be adhered to. Wa Iria stated that the breakthrough in winning public trust is by building public confidence in a land bank by way of adopting well-considered policies and priorities that govern to whom and for what purpose properties held by the government are sold or transferred.
He added that emphasizing community engagement and participation in dealings of all parcels under the land bank is critical. 'The most successful land banks carry along the neighbouring communities to such lands. Those neighbours must have a formal voice in policy and operations. By formalising that process, through regular neighbourhood meetings, and in some cases with the formation of a Community Advisory Council, our project will get off the starting blocks well cut for successful implementation,' he said.
