On 28th April, 2016 the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning, Prof. Jacob Kaimenyi, dissolved all land control boards across the country, and revoked the appointment of all land control board members. The move was aimed at curbing widespread corruption in the land sector, ostensibly to streamline issuance of consents in land control areas, which are agricultural zones. In the past, land control boards, traditionally chaired by district commissioners or district officers, have been accused of abusing the sweeping powers available to them on the transactions they adjudicate that relate to agricultural land.
Reactions to this move were varied; some lauded it as a positive action towards breaking up the corrupt cartels operating in the boards. Others argued that the move was unconstitutional for being over-inclusive and punishing the innocent landowners together with the tainted boards in one stroke; and further, ineffectual because some land boards continued to convene special boards granting backdated consents at a fee, thereby prompting the very thing it was intended to curb, albeit unwittingly.
By virtue of the Kenya Gazette Volume CXVIII-Number 74 dated 8th July, 2016, General Notice Number 5180 of the Land Control Act, land control boards in ten counties namely Kisumu, Machakos, Elgeyo Marakwet, Narok, Kwale, West Pokot, Taita Taveta, Murang’a, Vihiga and Kilifi have now been reconstituted and are operational. The reconstituted boards’ mandate will run for a period of three (3) years commencing 1st June, 2016.
Further, unofficial indications from the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning are that a proposal for the review of the board members’ sitting allowance has also been tabled to the Minister, in an effort to economically empower board members and curb the propensity for corruption. This suggests that land control board fees are set to rise from the current K.shs.1,000.00.
Among the reasons cited for the corruption in land boards is the infrequency of land control board meetings, which are held once a month in some areas. This does not adequately meet the need for consents, especially in vibrant land market zones such as Kajiado, Kiambu and Thika counties, which unfortunately were among the many counties left out in the recent reconstitution despite high anticipation by landowners, prospective investors and other stakeholders. It can only be hoped that under the new dispensation, land control board meetings will now be convened more frequently to match the demand and thus eliminate the need for special boards and other unorthodox practices adopted by desperate stakeholders in a bid to secure consents within commercially viable timelines.
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