Ngilu's move on Lands agency staff smacks of bad faith

NAIROBI: The National Land Commission (NLC), a statutory body, and the Ministry of Lands have been locked in an endless tussle for supremacy since the beginning of this year.

Their differences have been precipitated by actions taken unilaterally by Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu.

The National Land Commission (NLC) is an independent agency established under the Constitution to manage public land on behalf of the national and county governments. It was established under the National Land Commission Act, 2012.

Besides management of land, NLC is tasked with recommending a national land policy to the Government, advising it on a comprehensive programme for the registration of titles throughout the country and conducting research related to land and the use of natural resources.

It also holds in trust public land and ensures that it is not allocated or encroached upon.

Mrs Ngilu has issued letters to 100 staff members who were seconded to the NLC in April 2013, recalling them to the ministry.

Effectively, this will cripple operations at the Commission which is yet to recruit its own staff.

Viewed against the animosity and rivalry that has played out in public since Mrs Ngilu closed down the Lands Registry early this year (to optimise operations, digitise and upgrade records) the latest move is deemed to have been undertaken in bad faith.

At a time when the Commission is probing the controversial allocation of 22 parcels of land in Lamu County, withdrawing experienced staff members can only be termed malicious and aimed at thwarting operations that might bring to light some of the historical land injustices that have pitted Kenyans against each other for decades.

It also shines the spotlight on the Government's commitment to solve the land problem.

As it is, the State looks like it has become a biased arbiter; instead of issuing clear guidelines on the roles to be played by the Ministry and the NLC, it has been keen on stoking the embers of animosity.

If the Cabinet Secretary is allowed to ride roughshod over an independent commission, the truth about land injustices will never come out, and land matters will continue to divide Kenyans into the future.

It should not be lost on Kenyans that it took a court order to compel former President Mwai Kibaki to appoint NLC commissioners a year ago.

As the Government undertakes to down-size the civil service and cut down on the wage bill, will the NLC have a free hand to hire new staff members, and does the Treasury have the requisite funds to provide salaries and other operational costs?

Having digitised records at the Lands registry, a skeletal staff would suffice, hence the pointer to mischief in recalling staff members who were otherwise constructively engaged at the NLC.

As things stand out, it might be necessary for Parliament to arbitrate in the matter and set clear demarcation lines for ease of operations.