Families and commercial enterprises in Nakuru County top the list of beneficiaries issued with land ownership documents under the National Titling Program (NTP) designed to forestall persistent land wrangles that stall investments.
According to Governor Lee Kinyanjui the National Government through the Ministry of Lands has issued 76,000 title deeds to residents of the county since the start of the year under the programme that was rolled out by President Uhuru Kenyatta three years ago.
At the same time, Mr. Kinyanjui has revealed that his administration in collaboration with National Land Commission (NLC) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered grabbed public land and assets valued at over Sh1 billion.
“Through a partnership with EACC, public assets within the devolved unit valued at over Sh266 million have been recovered through an asset tracing program that took two years. We are also working with the National government and NLC to ensure all public utilities including schools, health facilities and open public spaces get title deeds for the land they occupy,” the governor observed.
The National titling programme, he pointed out, had doubled the number of people who have the security of tenure and have collateral for loans within the devolved unit.
Speaking at Kongasis trading center within Gilgil Sub-County when he issued 176 title deeds to owners of commercial plots the Governor said the National Titling Programme besides being key to ending disputes over land ownership particularly in parts of Rift Valley, Coast and North-Eastern region, plays a critical role in boosting the Big Four agenda by empowering landowners and businesses to access credit facilities from financial institutions.
He added that a further 20,000 title deeds will by June be issued to landowners in Mai Mahiu and Longonot in Naivasha Sub-County and in Kabatini, Githioro and Dundori locations within Bahati Sub-County. Other beneficiaries will be drawn from Polepole, Salgaa, Muchorwe and Kibunja villages within Subukia, Rongai, Kuresoi South and Molo Sub-Counties respectively.
Records from the Ministry of Lands indicate that the State has issued over 6 million title deeds to households, businesses, learning institutions and other entities since 2013 compared to the six million issued in the first 50 years since independence.
The issuance of title deeds, is in addition to the Ardhisasa platform launched by President Kenyatta in April last year to get rid of fraud in the land acquisition and transfer processes.
Ardhisasa, provides paperless land transactions, a shift aimed at curbing the high number of fraudulent cases and painfully slow processes on land sale, transfers and leases that had characterized the physical transactions.
Mr. Kinyanjui added “The National Titling Programme has fast-tracked registration of unregistered land and clean those whose records are marred by irregularities and unlock credit where people without title deeds and lack other collaterals find it hard to access bank loans,”
He noted that issuance of the land ownership documents is also aimed at affording households the chance to build permanent homes, enabling them to practice crop farming and animal keeping free with the comfort that they are sitting on land that is free from ownership disputes.
Governor Lee Kinyanjui however has expressed concern that a high number of land disputes pending in Nakuru courts are slowing the program meant to issue title deeds to at least 200,000 land owners by end of the year.
Mr. Kinyanjui indicated that the title deeds had also been given out to over 500 land owners within Kuresoi South, Naivasha, Rongai, Njoro, Subukia, Bahati and Gilgil Sub Counties.
He stated “The County is also working closely with the national government to oversee the issuance of 3000 Land lease rights within Nakuru City. This will assist in the growth and development of Nakuru as a City. We have also secured all our public utilities across the county to protect it from land grabbers.
We however caution the beneficiaries, who have yearned for the document for long, not to use it as a ticket to dispose of their land. We will institute measures to make sure that the land is protected from arbitrary disposal,” he affirmed.
The governor said more than 50 per cent of cases in courts across the county revolved around land. He observed that issuance of the title deeds was a game-changer for the squatters as they could now invest in better houses without fear of evictions.
He decried the rising cases of conflicts involving land particularly in Gilgil-Sub-County adding that many residents had been waiting for the documents for too long.
“There have been prolonged disputes over Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) land at Ndabibi. We are working with ADC to identify real beneficiaries with genuine allotment letters and issue them with title deeds before end of the year,” he assured.
He noted that the issuance of title deeds will shield vulnerable families from evictions and eradicate inequalities.
The public amenities recovered from private entities include 27 public officers’ residences at the Nakuru Municipality Block valued at a total of Sh74.2 million as well as another parcel of land which had been reserved for a Survey Camp by the Department of Survey in Nakuru County valued at Sh42 million.
EACC also recovered another piece of property on Nakuru Municipality Block belonging to the Postal Corporation which was allocated to a former member of parliament through an irregular alienation process and is estimated to be worth Sh150 million.
Mr. Kinyanjui indicated that some of the public land in hands of grabbers includes pathways, children’s playgrounds, school backyards, hospital yards, parking spaces, slaughter houses and markets among others. He advised those still clinging to public land to surrender it before forced repossession.
He said his administration had opened a new chapter in recovering illegally acquired property through structured negotiation.
“There are several estates without public schools, government health centres, play fields and police stations, although land was originally set aside for them but was grabbed. In their place, there are pubs and restaurants, shops or rental houses put up by private citizens. For those holding illegal titles for grabbed land and are not willing to negotiate and surrender them, please don’t cry foul when we come with bulldozers,” he warned.
By Anne Mwale
