Review land registration to spur growth

By Kethi D Kilonzo

Land is an integral part of the social system in Kenya.  Individual ownership of land, more so by title deed, is considered a symbol of wealth, and a rung up the ladder of social status, regardless of the size and the use to which the land is put. Since the 1950s, Kenya, more than any country, has promoted the registration of land and issuance of titles to individuals.  The aim of this policy, introduced 60 years ago, was to transform land into a commodity that could be owned initially by clans, then families, and eventually by individuals. It could then be sold and otherwise dealt with without consultation with the wider group.

The policy of converting community ownership into individual ownership through registration and issuing of title deeds, and the legal reforms which continue to date, did not have a positive impact on agriculture as was anticipated in the 1950s.

Land registration and issue of titles to individuals weakened the rights of access to land for women, the poor, tenants and squatters. Registration and issue of titles did not settle disputes over land rights. It merely transformed the avenue of resolution of such disputes. Traditional mechanisms of resolving land disputes were far faster and cheaper than any Land Tribunal or Court in Kenya today. The registration of land and titles were designed for a sedentary mode of agriculture. It’s therefore marginalised pastoralists who lost access to key land resources during drought.

The registration of land and issuance of title deeds has not had any widespread tangible economic impact in Kenya. Despite the administrative and transaction costs of the land registration systems in Kenya, it has not given the country any comparative economic advantage. There are those individuals and institutions that have benefitted, and others now fabulously rich from the conversion of public land into their private hands. However, they belong to an insignificant minority of the population.

If the aim of the 1950s policy to register land and issue individual titles was to increase agricultural activity, efficiency and productivity, 60 years after the fact you would expect a significant difference in the economic prowess of Kenya compared to our neighbouring countries.  For instance, all land in Tanzania is owned by the government. Proposed reforms to allow for individual ownership, particularly foreign ownership, remain unpopular in Tanzania. Land is never used as a collateral to obtain loans. However, the significant differences in land ownership policy in Kenya and Tanzania is not reflected in the economic performance of both countries. 

In 2012, 36 per cent of Tanzanians lived below the poverty line compared to over 50 per cent of Kenyans. The GDP of Tanzania grew in 2012 by 6.9 per cent compared to Kenya, which grew by 4.7 per cent. Agriculture comprised 27.7 per cent of the GDP of Tanzania in 2012 compared to 24.2 in Kenya. The population in employment in Tanzania is 24.75 per cent compared to 18.89 per cent in Kenya in 2012. The value of exports by Tanzania for 2012 was higher than that of Kenya, and so was their investment and gross national savings.

Land registration and the issuance of titles did not stop forcible and permanent eviction of targeted communities in areas affected by post-election violence in 2007/2008. Few attempts have been made to return the internally displaced persons to their original landholding. The registration of land and issuance of individual titles in Kenya has never been completed since it started in the 1950s. Many rural communities, who have long fenced off, sold and transferred, or bought parcels of land, are yet to be reached by officers from the Land Ministries since independence. 

A piece of land never shrinks. There are more pressing problems in land management and preservation than the registration and issue of titles. More emphasis should be given to development of rural infrastructure and promotion of market efficiency.