The Lands Ministry has lately been on overdrive to amend land laws and regulations. Laws are dynamic and need occasional changes to keep them updated with contemporary realities and to eliminate gaps or overlaps.
However, making and amending laws helps to keep the load realistic, and carries practising professionals, and the user community, along.
Where the load gets overwhelming, State departments have difficulties managing multiple amendments simultaneously, and adequately involving the professionals and the user community.
Moreover, the capacity of Parliament to provide quality oversight gets overstretched.
For instance, look at what the State Department of Lands has tried to handle lately. The Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, which, in the words of the Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wa, was withdrawn, had been shaped to amend six statutes. It took Mr Ichung’wa to step in and calm Kenyans following protests against this Bill, perhaps evidence of inadequate public involvement.
Among others, the Bill proposed to tax freehold land in urban areas and cities. This proposal, along with another to strip the National Land Commission of its powers to value private land identified for compulsory acquisition, will amend the Land Act. The Bill will also amend five other laws, including substantive ones like the Land Registration Act, the Community Land Act and the Sectional Properties Act. Even seasoned professionals have difficulties reviewing such vast amendments. The lay public will be at sea.
The ministry also proposed to amend regulations on the government fees chargeable for various services and documents. The Cabinet Secretary published proposals in April, and the National Assembly Committee on Delegated Legislation approved them in May. They cut across seven land laws, including the Survey Act, Valuers Act, Land Act and the Community Land Act.
Fees charged under the Land Registration, Physical and Land Use Planning, and Land Adjudication Acts, have been reviewed too.
Professionals and routine service seekers may wish to familiarise themselves with the new fees, contained in Legal Notices Nos 69-77 of 2024.
Increments for regularly sought services will impact a wide cross-section of Kenyans. These include fees for official searches, raised to Sh1,000, and the application for determining a disputed boundary, which will now be Sh3,000. Communities applying for registration under the Community Land Act will need to pay some Sh5,000 while applying for an interest or claim on Community land will cost Sh5000. Applications for consent by Land Control Boards will now cost Sh3,000.
Ironically, a fee of Sh10,000 chargeable for special land control board consents, has been introduced.
However, this service, which I recall attracted objections from some stakeholders, is yet to obtain legal force. It had been proposed under the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, which, as mentioned above, was withdrawn.
This is good evidence of the gaps and contradictions that come with moving too many amendments simultaneously. The ministry needs to address the anomaly quickly.
