Land reform is necessary in south africa but not land revolution, although the two are difficult to separate. Over the years, kenya s land sector has faced various challenges that arose from a highly centralized and an inefficient institutional governance set. Land reform transformation unit will prepare the ground for the reforms in the implementation of the national land policy. Kenya s land reforms are on course and new land laws, the environment and land court ac, the national land commission act, the land act and the land registration act, have been enacted. While agricultural officers did take mea sures to secure good land use and to encourage the voluntary consolidation of holdings, it was only in. It is therefore important to envision land reform processes as networks of power relations in institutionalised form. An act of parliament to give effect to article 68 of the constitution, to revise, consolidate and rationalize land laws. Globalization of the worlds economies, the increasing and sometimes violent competitive demands for. Usaidkenya supporting land reform through the kenya. Ethiopia in 1975, zimbabwe in 1980 and a renewed commitment to land reform in the philippines in 1988. For africa, however, the percentage increase in arable land 2. It argues that in spite of the constitutional and political importance of the new legislation. First and foremost, it foreclosed debates about redistribution, prioritising land law reform as the most effective way to address land problems and so evading more difficult questions about who controls access to land and how a more just distribution might be achieved. Comprehensive reform to bring kenyas land laws to the standards set by the commission is vital before the 2012 elections, human rights watch, witness, and the endorois lawyers said.
National and district land commissions to oversee work of the. Introduction amalgamation involves the combination of two or more contiguousadjoining lots of alienated land. The clamour for land reforms, the national land policy and the constitution. Subdivision is the divisor of land into two or more plotslots. Klrc has an additional mandate of preparing new legislation to give effect to the constitution. Throughout east africa, land reform has failed to confront the material consequences of unequal access.
The conclusion assesses the impact of land reform on landuse and land management in the context of tharakas changing role in the political economy of eastern kenya and considers the implications for sustainable development in kenyas semiarid rangelands. Kenyas land reform unites rich and poor in fear time. A government body tasked with implementing land reforms in kenya has launched a new strategy which aims to harness traditional methods to resolve disputes and cut down on the number of complaints going to court. Herders versus large landowners more recently, a new chapter in kenyas land conflicts began as herders occupied areas only around a threehour. The amendments were necessary to correct errors and inconsistencies in the statutes and. Sep 14, 2010 indeed, land is one of the most contentious issues in kenya. Whether it is called land reform or agrarian reform, the operational concept covers five main types of reform, classified according to whether they deal with land title and terms of holding, land distribution, the scale of operation, the pattern of cultivation, or supplementary measures such as credit, marketing, or extension services. May 30, 2018 the process of land reform has become highly politicised to the extent that it is threatening to derail the countrys economic development. The land reform in zimbabwe was organised in line with that slogan and had the following basic elements of speed, which made it to be known as the fast track land reform. From its indian ocean coastline, kenyas flat land rises into central highlands. Historical perspective to land reform in uganda precolonial era colonial and postcolonial uganda the 1975 land reform decree 3. The subject of land reforms is being debated with unprecedented interest and vigour. The ownership of the so much land by a minority is unethical, but the lesson from zimbabwe is clear.
Pdf the politics of land reform in kenya 2012 researchgate. Like other african states, kenyas state may be predatory and arbitrary in ways that may be restrained through the rule of law. Case studies of recent reforms world bank documents. Apr 01, 2014 pdf this article provides a critique of the final stages of kenyas land law reform process, which has resulted in the approval of the 2012 land act.
Land conflict and distributive politics in kenya 79 the analysis of land politics helps reveal the difficulty of kenyas predicament. Zimbabwe, on one side of the spectrum, is facing a crisis in democratisation due to its radical approach to land reform. New plan for land reform in kenya institute for war and. Land reform is a highly politicised process characterised by unequal power relations. The need for land reforms in kenya arose from a long history of inefficient and ineffective land administration and governance system. Patterns of land use and land distribution vary enormously. Any programme of land reform has to inevitably deal with the vexed issue of property relations and their constitutional basis. A fundamental goal of tenure reform is to enhance peoples land rights and thus provide tenure security box 2. Land has had great prominence in kenya politics throughout the countrys colonial and postcolonial history. Prepared for the united states agency for international development, property rights and resource governance program under the prosperity, livelihoods and critical ecosystems place indefinite quantity contract iqc contract no. It also makes proposals on land distribution and redistribution, inheritance of land and access of land to women.
Kenya land reform and rural transformation overview pesa. In a country like kenya where land distribution has been largely in favour of the executive and political leadership through history, land reforms are viewed as upsetting this status quo. The interaction of legal systems is complex and often engenders conflict and competition. The act brings about amendments to the land act, 2012, land registration act, 2012 and the national land commission act, 2012. Kenya s land policy and the subsequent anchor in the constitution did not come easy.
It began with a new constitution, ratified in 2010. Speeding up the identification for compulsory acquisition of not less than. Full implementation of he laws however will require the development of regulations, rules, procedures to guide implementation. Revised edition 2010 1983 published by the national council for law reporting with the authority of the attorney general. The governments land reform programme is made up of the following principal components.
Land laws amendment bill, 2015 kenya land alliance. Economic case for land tenure reform land tenure reform refers to a planned change in the terms and conditions on which land is held, used and transacted. Twelve percent of kenyas land is classified as nationallyprotected world bank 2009a. Those highlands are the site of the countrys highest point. Throughout the land sector, the need to embrace change, better land governance and land rights for all has perhaps never been greater. Following initial enthusiasm in the postwar period, land reform fell out of favour with donors from the early 1970s. The reform is based on a national land policy nlp, adopted in 2009 after years of consultation. Land reform in africa lessons from kenya 73 whereas the increase in the agricultural population was slightly higher. Nonetheless, sporadic efforts to redistribute land continued.
Land tenure and economic development in rural south africa. Kenyas national land policy and land reform focus on land. In kenya, however, the formal individualization of. It is based on lessons learned from various research findings, kenya land alliance experience and discussions with colleagues with whom we work with in various capacities on land policy and law reforms in kenya and others parts of africa. This paper provides an overview of land reform in south africa from 1994 to 2011. The land laws amendment act, 2016 received presidential assent on 31st august 2016 and came into force on 21st september 2016. Land tenure reform in kenyas maasailand sophie borwein sophie borwein is a 20 master of public policy candidate at the university of torontos school of public policy and governance. Redistributive land reform in namibia, south africa and zimbabwe. It is a precondition for the success of governments growth, employment and redistribution strategy. Capacity to implement gendersensitive land reform 51 section four.
There are expected to be some teething transition and implementation. Its purpose is to split a large tract of land into smaller ones. This report covers the third year of the road towards land reform in kenya. Among the state actors, the ministry of land and its offices such as the commissioner of land have had. Land reform in kenya a some problems and perspectives. Pdf this article provides a critique of the final stages of kenyas land law reform process, which has resulted in the approval of the 2012 land act. All registration processes are still manual though. Key emerging policy issues in south africas land reform 179 the future of land reform in south africa 186 conclusion 195 notes 196 references 197 7.
The consequences of a legalistic approach to land reform are starkly evident in kenyas new land laws. Kenya has recently initiated farreaching land reform. The effect of this imbalance in growth has been increased pressure on land. The second reform enabled africans to buy land from euro. The sessional paper designates all land in kenya as public, community or. But corruption that pits state against society is not the only problem. When combined, the land will be held under single title. The effects of existing land tenure systems on land use in kenya today international conference on spatial information for sustainable development nairobi, kenya 25 october 2001 4 this mode of ownership in kenya is currently governed by the trust land act by which. The successful completion of the policy will set in motion a series of actions and activities that will have far reaching implications on land relations and land use in this country.
This led to a clamour for land reforms which eventually yielded the kenya national land policy nlp adopted in 2009, and a comprehensive treatment of land in the constitution of kenya promulgated in august 2010. After going round the country and visiting foreign countries, a. Land related problems, including security of tenure, duplicate titles, forced. Amongst others the question of land reform as part of the new. The object of this proposed bill is listed as to make further provision with respect to the operation of the court as a court of exclusive judicial authority to, among other things, hear and determine disputes relating to the environment and the use and occupation of, and. When 3,000 pokot herders were evicted from baringo county in early 2017, they lost 5,000 animals. Land reform in kenya some problems and perspectives by simon coldham introduction some 90% of the population of kenya lives in the rural areas and depends on agriculture, in most cases smallholder agriculture, for its livelihood. Agricultural land redistribution and land administration in subsaharan africa. Land reform in south africa getting back on track may 2008 cde executive summary this is an executive summary of cde research no 16, land reform in south africa. Kenya is in the midst of land reform that has farreaching implications for securing the land rights of rural people upward of 32 million in 2011, and promoting political stability and economic development. Could kenyan experiences of group tenure provide a model for the south african land reform policy. Recent years have witnessed increased interest in issues of access to and control of land in many countries in subsaharan africa. The process of land adjudication and its impacts on land.
The need to reconcile customary law and womens rights kenya is a legally plural state where several different legal and normative systems operate alongside each other. In its current form and context, the bill has been subjected to highlevel scrutiny. Since the 1990s, law reform has been the favoured means of addressing contentious land issues. The purpose of this article is to advance a preliminary political analysis of the impact of two major land reforms undertaken in kenya within the last 15 years. Resistance to embracing change is still high in this sector, and we are still working towards reducing it. Land grievances were at the root of violence that followed flawed elections in 2007, when hundreds of thousands of ethnic minorities were driven off lands that local communities believe had been given to them illegally in decades past. In the process, many animals died, and human food insecurity increased. National land policy in kenya the process of formulating a national land policy nlp in kenya is already in progress. Lrtu land reform transition unit knlp kenya national land policy mol ministry of lands. This may be necessary in order to avoid the suffering and social instability. Or should they adopt modern concepts of individual tenure. Nevertheless, it was the policy of the incoming government of the african national congress anc to effect land reform that would to a significant. Land reform is probably one of the most difficult domestic policy issues to be dealt with by zimbabwe, namibia, south africa and australia. Land reform in kenya valposcholar valparaiso university.
Kenyas land reforms are on course and new land laws, the environment and land court ac, the national land commission act, the land act and the land registration act, have been enacted. All of these laws strengthen the land rights of kenyans and promote gender equity in accessing land. She holds a bachelor of political science from simon fraser university. Land reform in southern and eastern africa african law report. The need for land reform south africa suffered a long history of colonization, racial domination and land dispossession that resulted in the bulk of the agricultural land being owned by a white minority. The land related conflicts have involved all manner of actors at different times, at around independence and immediately after independence in the 1960s the land issues activated the ethnoregional conflicts that saw the polarization of politics between kenya african national union kanu and kenya african democratic union kadu and later. Focus on land kenyas national land policy and land reform. Looking at the way grievances over land have been articulated over time, it is apt to say that there is not a single land question in kenya but multiple land questions begging for attention. Kenya law reform, the state law offices, non state actors in the land sector, institute of surveyors of kenya, kenya institute of planners, the law society of kenya and the ministry of lands. The fiveyear plan which the national land commission published in june focuses on peoples right to own land, and on resolving conflicts over tenure at community level wherever. The focus of the paper is the land redistribution program, but it touches briefly on restitution and tenure. One of these, begun during the mau mau rising in the midi95os, enabled africans to consolidate and gain individual legal titles to their land holdings and subsequently to participate in the production of lucrative cash crops.
Project completion report annex 1 and goes on to consider options for future support. Land reforms and poiltics in kenya, 195470 cambridge core. Land governance institutions centralised office of the registrar housed within a national land centre nlc handle mostly land administration and planning issues sets procedures and standards for land administration district land bureaux to handle all district land issues, planning and land administration 30 in number and liaise with sectors and. Mar 02, 2015 the clamour for land reforms, the national land policy and the constitution. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.
The process of land reform has become highly politicised to the extent that it is threatening to derail the countrys economic development. Then, in 2012, the government of kenya passed the land act, land registration act, and the national land commission act. In each of these countries the process of land reform is incomplete. The unit will design an effective vehicle for transformation. The most common pattern was to combine interventions in land allocation. Land scarcity and agricultural commercialization are expected to increase land value and lead to the individualization of land rights, creating opportunities to establish institutions to better define and enforce property rights boserup, 1965. The unit will oversee the establishment of organs that will drive reform in the ministry. For the first time in history, the policy and constitutional frameworks provided kenya with a unique opportunity to undertake comprehensive land reforms to respond to contemporary land issues. We hope it will stimulate interest in the fulllength report, in which the issues and recommendations briefly described here are discussed in depth. The kenyan highlands are bisected by the great rift valley. In kenya, land translates to power, especially in higher levels of government where officials use their positions in the state to access land. There are expected to be some teething transition and implementation challenges.
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