Politics poses problem to issuance of title deeds

The issuance of title deeds is an emotive and political process. Since independence, successive governments have promised to issue all pending title deeds to give Kenyans an opportunity to use them for productive economic activities. Title deeds give landowners security of tenure and facilitate their use as collateral for bank loans or other borrowing.

Politics poses a serious problem to the issuance of title deeds. Politicians see the title deed as a bait to catch voters, particularly in areas where they have not been issued in the past five decades. With the campaigns for this year's General Election hotting up, the title deed issue has become a hotly contested one between the Jubilee administration and the National Super Alliance.

The government claims credit for issuing more than 3 million title deeds, fulfilling its 2013 election promise. It is one of the remarkable achievements of the Jubilee administration, given that until 2013, the total number of title deeds issued countrywide was five million.

Now, the stock is eight million title deeds, nearly 40 per cent of them issued in the past four years. Jubilee has focused on quick wins in empowering citizens through land rights, while Orange Democratic Movement presidential candidate Raila Odinga advocates implementation of the Truth and Justice Commission report to have comprehensive land reforms, including addressing historical land injustices.

The other point of departure is how much the National Land Commission, whose leadership has been fingered for corruption in SGR land compensation, is involved and the way the administration has targeted title deeds for coastal communities and urban informal settlements such as Kibera that are considered predominantly opposition zones.

APRIL 2013

It started as soon as Uhuru Kenyatta was installed as president in April 2013. A few months later, he was at State House, Mombasa, when he launched a campaign to issue 60,000 title deeds in three days to landowners. This kicked off a nationwide programme to issue title deeds to landowners.

The government has expanded it to include minority settler communities such as the Nubians of Kibera, who had no rights to their land since they settled on a military reserve established by the British colonial administration after the First World War, and troubled land buying companies like Kihiu Mwiri and Mbo-i-Kamiti, which have witnessed decades of bloody conflicts.

Also included recently are squatters in central and eastern Kenya, who have lived without title deeds in villages that were used by the colonial administration as concentration camps during the Mau Mau uprising. The most fundamental aspect of the issuance of title deeds is how much economic power it transfers to recipients. It is akin to transferring a shelter from sinking sand to solid rock.

The Nubians had no legal rights to their land, but now have a tradeable asset of 288 acres with an estimated fair market value of Sh28.8 billion. They can borrow money to improve their dwellings or use the new asset to attract serious investors to develop a decent housing and shopping complex from which to earn monthly rent and improve their livelihoods.

Similarly, the squatters issued with title deeds are now owners of means of production. The government has improved the economic opportunities of thousands.

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

There is rich literature on how improving the security of land tenure empowers the people to actively participate in economic development. A World Bank conference on the role of land tenure in sustainable development held in Washington, DC, in March underlined the link between land rights, poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Scientists, policymakers and civil society representatives agreed that “secure land tenure is fundamental to building sustainable communities, cities and countries”. Land reform, including issuance of title deeds, promotes economic growth and improves livelihoods of poor and marginalised communities.

Peter Warutere is a director of Mashariki Communications. [email protected]