•More than 12 counties have carried out valuations for rating. However, Nyong’o said it was sad none of them has been implemented.
•Most of the maps are outdated forcing counties to spend lots of money and time in trying to map them.
Image: MAURICE ALAL
County governments are struggling with issues of land administration and management, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o has said.
Nyongo is the chairman for Lands and Physical Planning committee in the Council of Governors.
He said lack of proper management of land hinders planning and developments in the counties, while it also affects revenue collection.
Nyong’o asked the surveyors to address challenges, especially when dealing with land and property ownership, which have been an emotive and sensitive affair.
“There have been tragic feuds over land ownership and boundary disputes across Kenya. As surveyors, you can help minimise some of these issues,” he said.
He was addressing delegates during the seventh Institute of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) Africa Regional conference held in Kisumu.
The conference brought together property developers, valuers, surveyors, real estate agents, GIS experts and academia from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana.
Nyong’o pointed out that the conference themed, "Smart Surveying for Improved Land Governance," resonated with the challenges the county governments face in land governance.
He urged surveyors to prioritise, educate and empower county staff in the sector on land administration to help spur economic developments and revenue generation in counties.
The counties are still looking forward to greater success in land administration and management since the inception of devolution.
“One of the key areas that counties are struggling with is on their own sources of revenue,” Nyong'o said.
Land has been identified as one of the leading sources of income for county governments through land development and levying of property rates.
More than 12 counties have carried out valuations for rating. However, Nyong’o said it was sad that none of them has been implemented.
This, he partly attributed to inadequate technical capacity within the counties to design and implement a land based taxation system, incomplete survey and maps and the general awareness of the citizenry to pay rates.
The County Government Act mandates counties to develop Geographic Information System (GIS) laboratories.
“These labs are essential in providing the counties a secure and robust hardware and software to develop a GIS-based County Spatial Plan,” Nyong’o said.
He advised counties to establish Valuation Rolls (VR) which are GIS based to ensure that data is stored digitally and can be easily retrieved.
The counties have also been urged to integrate such records with billing systems to ensure accurate billing and on time collection of rates.
Nyong’o argued that digital land records are critical for the water utility companies, noting that most of them lose a lot of money due to non-revenue water.
“More often than not these utility companies have no idea where their customers are and even worse where their water pipes are located and buried,” he said.
Nyong'o said surveyors have the solutions that counties are looking for – from being able to use ground penetrating radar to map the utility network to using GIS to map the customers with greater degree of confidence.
"The counties are also struggling with the development of county spatial plans. In order for us to have effective spatial plans, the areas of specific interest have to be mapped," he said.
However, most of the maps are outdated forcing counties to spend lots of money and time in trying to map them.
Nyong’o championed for a policy that would ensure mapping of the country especially urban areas to help counties to drive their projects and programmes with ease.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined the targets to achieve sustainable development by 2030.
He said counties are faced with challenges of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Housing remains a key challenge in many urban areas with many residents living in deplorable conditions.
This comes even as the national government has identified affordable housing as a key development target to increase the availability of decent and affordable housing in towns.
“My government will collaborate with the national government to realise this dream for the people of Kisumu,” Nyong’o said.
Many residents rely on motorised transport which creates traffic jams due to inadequate infrastructure as the country work towards sustainable transport.
In Kisumu city, the county has made efforts to encourage pedestrian and cycling to promote alternative means of transport.
The initiative is aimed at reducing reliance on vehicles through the Kisumu Sustainable Mobility Plan by careful integration of land use and transport planning.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
Image: MAURICE ALAL