The simple changes that could improve services at lands offices

Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi addresses participants at a past event. It’s hoped that he, in partnership with the National Land Commission, will progressively implement most of the changes, given the importance of land transactions in national development and business. PHOTO | JAMES EKWAM | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Kenya’s quest for land reforms was partly informed by public frustrations while seeking services in lands offices.
  • Suggestions have been practical and varied, aimed at drawing the attention of senior and middle level managers in the Lands Ministry.

Kenya’s quest for land reforms was partly informed by public frustrations while seeking services in lands offices.

In trying to track the impact of the reforms to business done in these offices, key players, among them the Land Development and Governance Institute, have undertaken periodic surveys to gauge public perceptions on the services provided, particularly in the Land Registries.

Suggestions have been practical and varied, aimed at drawing the attention of senior and middle level managers in the Lands Ministry. Significantly, they are pretty simple and implementing them calls for little or no extra money.

To help the ministry harness the suggestions, the institute shared the highlights with the Lands Cabinet secretary, Parliament and other pertinent State offices.

From recent surveys, there’s evidence that some actions have been taken, though on a small scale, to implement some of the suggestions. This is commendable and should be sustained.

It’s hoped that Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi, in partnership with the National Land Commission, will progressively implement most of the changes, given the importance of land transactions in national development and business.

The surveys continue to affirm that simple, short-term interventions would go a long way in improving services.

Overall, the surveys reveal that it is actions such as transforming staff attitudes towards customer service and ensuring easy access to land information and products that would most satisfy customers.

They would want to find reliable and consistently attended customer care desks to provide information on the kinds, costs and locations of officers offering specific services in an office.

KEEP OFF BROKERS

This information would help to reduce their enquiry and waiting time. It would also help keep off brokers, who confuse service seekers and introduce barriers between them and officers. Staff badges or uniforms, such as branded overcoats, would easily take care of this.

In addition, those seeking services have suggested that senior officers from Ardhi House should be making sporadic inspection visits to county land offices to reduce incidents of lateness and absence from office, laxity and corruption.

There should also be introduction of a mechanism for enforcing timelines stipulated for provision of various services in the ministry’s service charter.

To cultivate a culture of integrity and commitment to customer needs, suggestions have been made that newly recruited and continuing officers should be taken through structured induction and transformative management courses.

Other administrative interventions suggested include the regular transfer of staff to reduce the possibilities of long-serving workers playing patron to broker cartels and pre-empting a business-as-usual attitude.

But there are also genuine limitations observed at the service level, which need specific executive attention. These include insufficient technical staff, congestion in offices, poor storage facilities and lack of official stationery and basic equipment. These call for simple extension or re-arrangement of office facilities in some cases.

LAND CONTROL BOARDS

Branded official stationery such as forms for applications for transaction approvals to land control boards, letters of consent, blank title deeds and green cards among others, often reported to be out of stock in many land registries, must never be allowed to run out of supply.

Shortage of such stationery has limiting implications to customer service and revenue collection. Basic equipment such as computers and photocopiers should be provided in offices.

Though expensive, concerns raised on the need for provision of sufficient numbers of technical staff such as registrars, surveyors and valuers need to be addressed in the ministry’s medium and long-term training strategies.

At the same time, digitisation of records and the computerisation of technical processes, including the use of e-payments as is now happening in the Nairobi Registry, need to be prioritised in the immediate and medium term.

Mr Mwathane is the chairman, Land Development and Governance Institute, [email protected]/[email protected], www.ldgi.org)