- Double registration of parcels of land has been the main challenge facing the exercise
- Ministry has constituted parallel teams that assess the documents and advise the government accordingly.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Digitisation of land records in Nairobi will be completed in June and the entire country by end of 2024, Lands CS Farida Karoney has said.
Karoney told the Senate Devolution Committee on Thursday that her ministry is working closely with Nairobi Metropolitan Services to complete the exercise in Nairobi before the next financial year.
She said double registration of land is the main challenge facing her ministry.
“When there is double registration, it takes a lot of time to digitise records because there are too many documents involved. The problem has dragged us but we have found a way to go about it,” Karoney said.
The CS said the ministry has constituted parallel teams that assess the documents and advise the government accordingly.
The idea behind digitising the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning is to ease property registration and introduce transparency in land administration and management.
It seeks to promote transparency, equity, non-discrimination and to protect the rights and responsibilities of property owners.
The President launched the National Lands Information Management System on April 27, 2021.
The system is currently live only in Nairobi. However, Nairobi is not live on both registries- the Nairobi Registry and the Central Registry.
Karoney said digitisation of land records will go a long way in eliminating land grabbing.
“We have had the vice for 60 years. Land grabbing is not a problem that can be eliminated in five years. In other countries like the UK for instance, it took them 15 years to deal with the problem yet they are an advanced economy,” she said.
The CS had appeared before the committee to assist members with investigations on alleged illegal evictions of residents from Nairobi city county staff housing units in Pumwani and Eastleigh.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Service has been on the spot for the evictions that occurred last year.
Senate Devolution Committee led by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang is investigating allegations that NMS has directly been involved in land grabbing by aiding illegal land evictions.
Of contention is the property belonging to Pumwani staff quarters and Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company where NMS evicted residents with private developers taking over ownership of the property.
The private developers started building rental properties on the disputed parcel after the residents were evicted in June 2021.
On Thursday, Karoney and officials from NMS could not provide documents showing ownership of the disputed land.
Acting chair Aaron Cheruiyot directed that the two present documents on the ownership of the land on Thursday next week.
“Furnish us with evidence. We want to know the owners. Tell us who the original owners were and how it changed hands,” he said.
The transfer of assets from national government to county government as well as transfer of the same to county corporations was cited as the loophole creating an avenue of land grabbing in the country.
Elgoyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen called for an audit of the NMS since 2020, when it took up management of the city county through transfer of key functions including land management.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)