Corruption in Kenya's Land Control Boards A Call for Modernization and Reform
Introduction to Land Control Boards
In Kenya, land control boards (LCBs) were established under the Land Control Act to regulate agricultural land transactions. Agricultural land, which constitutes the majority of Kenya’s landmass, is defined as land that is not a municipality, township, or market. The boards play a key role in granting or refusing consent for land transactions, such as sales, transfers, leases, mortgages, and sub-divisions.
A typical land control board comprises a District Commissioner (or the deputy) as the chairperson, two public officers, and three to seven persons resident within the area of jurisdiction of the board. The mandate of these boards includes safeguarding agricultural productivity by ensuring that land transactions promote sustainable land use, avoid excessive fragmentation, and ensure that land remains under Kenyan ownership.
The Role and Purpose of Land Control Boards
The primary function of LCBs is to grant consent for controlled transactions for agricultural land. These transactions include the sale or transfer of land, division into smaller parcels, leases, and more. The boards consider factors such as whether the land will be utilized effectively, the impact on productivity, and whether the purchaser already owns sufficient agricultural land. They are also tasked with ensuring fair transactions. For instance, they may reject a sale if they determine the terms are unfair to one party. Additionally, they help prevent undue land fragmentation, safeguarding the agricultural viability of the land.
Corruption in the Current System
Despite their intended purpose, land control boards have become increasingly problematic due to rampant corruption. Board members often demand extra payments beyond what is legally required, inflating the cost of land transactions. These illicit payments, demanded in addition to the fees payable through the E-Citizen platform, are essentially bribes. Refusing to comply almost guarantees that the transaction won’t be consented to. This corruption burdens both land owners and geospatial professionals. Surveyors, in particular, incur additional costs not provided for in legal statutes. These costs are ultimately passed on to Kenyans, driving up fees for land services.
Worse still, bribery has led to the approval of transactions that should otherwise be rejected. Transactions that could harm agricultural productivity and cause illegal displacement of people are sometimes consented to solely because of corruption, undermining the boards’ original purpose of promoting sustainable land use.
Additionally, Kenya’s young geospatial professionals remain largely unemployed despite their potential to contribute to modern land management. With their skills in mapping and data analysis, these professionals could streamline land transactions, but the current outdated system fails to recognize or utilize their expertise.
Outdated Legislation and Its Impact
The laws governing land control boards date back to the 1960s, making them unsuitable for the current economic and technological landscape. Some provisions are not only outdated but also impractical. For instance, the law stipulates that consent may be denied if the person acquiring the land is “unlikely to farm the land well or develop it adequately” or “is unlikely to be able to use the land profitably for the intended purpose owing to its nature” or if the person “already has sufficient agricultural land.” How can such factors be reasonably determined? These vague provisions leave too much room for subjective interpretation. The outdated legal framework allows inefficiency and corruption to flourish, leaving land transactions vulnerable to exploitation.
A New Approach: Employing Professional Expertise and Digital Solutions
Kenya needs a modern solution, one of which is to replace the current land control boards with a research-based framework overseen by professionals. The government could employ geospatial experts, valuers, environmentalists, lawyers, and other relevant professionals through the Public Service Commission and deploy them to the various land control areas. These professionals would conduct continuous research in their assigned districts, providing up-to-date data on factors such as land valuation, productivity, and fragmentation.
This data could form the basis of clear policies guiding land transactions, removing the need for a panel of individuals to make subjective decisions. These policies would be made publicly available so that people can assess whether their proposed transactions meet the required standards. For example, land use zones could be researched, mapped, and publicized to guide applicants on the allowed land uses in an area. Decisions about land productivity, valuation, and fragmentation could be more efficiently handled through empirical data rather than subjective decisions made by unskilled village elders.
The transaction approval process could be further streamlined by moving it online, where applications would be reviewed based on established criteria, and all payments made securely via E-Citizen.
In situations where community matters arise, such as disputes over land transactions, local administrators like chiefs can be utilized. If necessary, legal avenues should be available to resolve conflicts. This approach would remove the need for individuals to control land transactions, many of whom are focused on personal gain rather than public service.
The Advantages of This Approach
This new system offers several clear benefits:
- Transparency: Digital platforms and data-driven policies reduce the risk of corruption. Payments would go directly to the government, and decisions would be based on clear, objective criteria.
- Efficiency: An option for online applications for consent would provide greater convenience and streamline the process. Additionally, up-to-date data provided by professionals would be made publicly available, allowing individuals to determine whether their proposed transactions meet the required standards without the need to wait for the verdict of the board. This eliminates and reduces the need for in-person meetings where corruption could occur.
- Job Creation: This system would involve surveyors, GIS experts, environmentalists, valuers, lawyers, IT experts, and other relevant professionals. By employing them to provide expert guidance on land matters, the government could both reduce unemployment and improve land management across the country.
- Reduced Costs of Land Transactions: The costs of land transactions would be reduced, as the illegal bribes typically paid to board members, which are eventually passed on to the general public, would no longer be necessary.
- Reducing Delays: Currently, LCBs convene to handle applications for a specific region once a month and require the physical presence of the parties involved in the transaction. If one misses this scheduled date, they must either wait for the following month or pay extra for a special sitting to address their case. With the new framework, this hassle would be eliminated, as approvals would be based on clear, well-established policies and timely payments. Additionally, enabling online applications for consent would further ease the process.
It’s time for Kenya to reform its outdated land control system and embrace a future where technology and professional expertise guide land transactions. By implementing these changes, the country can reduce corruption, create jobs for young professionals, and ensure land is managed sustainably to support Kenya’s agricultural and economic development.