Following the approval of the National Land Policy at a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Kibaki, it will be submitted to Parliament as a sessional paper for debate and approval. This will lead to the drafting of various laws relating to land ownership.
Addressing the Press after the meeting, Lands minister James Orengo said his ministry would require up to Sh9 billion to implement the policy, which proposes a radical shift in management of land.
Revert to State
A highlight of the policy is a provision that will see all private land revert to the State in case the owner dies without picking an heir or in the absence of any legally binding claim to the land.
The policy also recognises the rights of spouses and children in the distribution of private land. It also recognises the rights of women in sharing of community land.
It also promises to revert all government land at the Coast to communities a thorny issue among residents in the province who have for years accused rich foreigners, known as absentee landlords of rendering them squatters after illegally acquiring their land.
Mr Orengo said the policy would help correct historical injustices against pastoral communities by recovering trust lands illegally acquired and returning them to the affected communities.
The policy further states that the State will have the right to compulsory acquisition of land or to control development, but those affected will be adequately compensated.
Rich land owners, who keep huge chunks of land idle for speculative purposes, have cause to worry. They will now have to pay tax for such land. The aim is to encourage maximum land use, Mr Orengo said.
The adoption of the policy was a crucial aspect towards the realisation of Agenda Four of the National Accord, which spells out various measures to correct and punish historical injustices to avoid a recurrence of the violence that rocked the country early last year.
I have every confidence that the government will do all it can to lobby for its adoption by Parliament because it is part of the reforms spelt out in Agenda Four, Mr Orengo said when asked about the chances of Parliament throwing out the sessional paper.
Counting on donors
The minister further stated that to enable Kenyans access land records in a faster and convenient manner, the ministry planned to computerise its records all over the country.
He said the government was also counting on donors to help meet expenses of the new laws. Under the policy, all laws relating to land ownership will be harmonised into a maximum of three pieces of legislation to hasten the resolution of disputes relating to land.
The policy also seeks to ensure that the duration of all land leases does not exceed 99 years. The government further intends to prohibit non-citizens from holding freehold interests in land, but will allow them to acquire leasehold interests.
Daily Nation
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