Land secretary Jacob Kaimenyi said a set of laws are being prepared to stop automatic renewal or extension of lease terms for land that is being held for speculative purposes.
Land principal secretary Nicholas Muraguri told the Business Daily that the law currently considers any holdings of 10 acres or more as large and qualifying for scrutiny.
The planned law will only target large idle land held on a leasehold basis.
It remains to be seen whether the government will arrive at a single acreage to define what constitutes a large piece of land or if there will be variations to address various local factors.
Kenya Land Alliance (KLA), an advocacy group, reckons that there are both small and large chunks of idle land in prime productive areas held by individuals and companies.
Owners of large and idle tracts of land risk losing such holdings upon the expiry of their lease terms in a change of policy that seeks to free up parcels concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and corporations for productive use.
Land secretary Jacob Kaimenyi said a set of laws are being prepared to stop automatic renewal or extension of lease terms for land that is being held for speculative purposes.
“The approval of extension or renewal of lease for large-scale land owners shall be based on the benefits to the economy and the country as a whole and the national development goals,” Prof Kaimenyi said.
The minister said the department of land was preparing guidelines to be implemented in line with the rules and regulations that will guide implementation of the new land laws.
Prof Kaimenyi did not, however, indicate the size of land that will be considered “large” or what will constitute productivity in the targeted properties.
Land principal secretary Nicholas Muraguri told the Business Daily that the law currently considers any holdings of 10 acres or more as large and qualifying for scrutiny.
Dr Muraguri added that the list of activities that qualify to be undertaken in a specific area is being prepared for publication, meaning that large land owners could still forfeit their land to the State if the use they are making of land in a specific area is out of sync with the official policy.
“From time to time, the government will be undertaking spatial planning to determine which economic activities are profitable in a given area,” Dr Muraguri said, adding a determination that a piece of land could be of more economic benefit if put to use other than the undertaking of the current lessee, may cause a denial of lease extension.
The size of land holdings and their use has been on the radar of policymakers in recent years as Kenya’s population expands rapidly, adding to the pressure to find more efficient uses in production of food and other goods.
It is estimated that only 17 per cent of Kenya’s land is suitable for rain-fed agriculture, with the rest covered by arid and semi-arid climate.
Kenya Land Alliance (KLA), an advocacy group, reckons that there are both small and large chunks of idle land in prime productive areas held by individuals and companies.
“The land belongs to absentee land owners — middle and upper class Kenyans — who earn their living from white collar jobs or businesses, and only own land for prestige, political considerations or for idiosyncratic purposes,” KLA says in one of its reports.
“These individuals, corporations or syndicates do not need this land for their livelihood. They are unable to put it to maximum use either because it is not a priority or they own well beyond what they can manage.”
The planned law will, however, only target large idle land held on a leasehold basis. It remains to be seen whether the government will arrive at a single acreage to define what constitutes a large piece of land or if there will be variations to address various local factors.
The Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) has — in a preliminary report to determine minimum and maximum private land holding in the country as envisaged by the Constitution — proposed different sizes of land holdings for different counties.
The findings are cautionary in a number of aspects. The reason is that many of the factors involved are themselves a multifaceted concept, which are not easily operationalised,” ISK said in the report.
“Matters relating to land issues tend to be complex and sensitive and therefore detailed study is necessary to formulate county-specific procedures.”
