The old wars between the lands ministry and its offshoot, the National Land Commission (NLC), are simmering again, and threatening to disrupt delivery of services.
The ministry has ordered the NLC staff out of its Ardhi House headquarters with sources saying some of the commission’s departments, including legal and administration, complying with the verbal directive.
The routine feuds on issues, ranging from office space to who has the power over the emotive issue of land administration, are not new between the ministry and the commission.
The turf wars once climaxed in early 2014 with former NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri suing Lands CS at the time, Charity Ngilu, after they clashed on roles.
This time round, the ministry wants the NLC out of Ardhi House but the latter is determined to stay put, especially for its critical directorates like land administration that requires prompt access to records domiciled at the ministry. The ministry’s major function is to advise the NLC on all matters relating to Land Administration.
This department is also charged with co-ordinating technical and administrative issues relating to land management as well as coordination of the work of Land Administrators in the 47 counties. It is headed by Mercy Njamweya.
Only the Valuation and Taxation and Land acquisition and compensation directorate are still at Ardhi House as well as staff from Evaluation and Finance.
“The First Floor where commission’s legal department staff worked was taken over last Friday by ministry team working on digitisation of records. Our files were moved to stores and some departments have moved to the adjacent Garden Annex building,” sources said.
“What we are worried about is the Land Administration directorate because moving them out of Ardhi House means you are basically killing their function. Without proper access to files domiciled at the lands headquarters means our work is crippled”.
NLC chairman Gershom Otachi acknowledged operational and logistical challenges occasioned by the urgency to move out of the building.
“It is true there was a request by the ministry that we leave the building. They say they have new staff and are, therefore, constrained for space,” Mr Otachi said on phone.
“We are yet to get new offices for some of the directorates. It is a matter we are considering critically but we are in talks with the affected departments to see how operationally it may affect us,” he said.
The new NLC commissioners were sworn in last November and will the nine will serve for a non-renewable six-year term.
“We will work as efficiently as possible within the law and the Constitution to ensure that the right decisions are implemented with the right people and the right staff in the right places at the commission,” said Mr Otachi then.
The policy to devolve land administration and management to the counties stalled, and remains as it was before the NLC was set up.
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