Ardhi Caucus pushes for land tenure security amid slow pace of reforms

Community land tenure and women land rights are some of the issues a section of non-State actors have purposed to tackle in a newly formed consortium that has roped in the government.

Ardhi Caucus, which is the banner of the consortium, has been informed by bottlenecks on implementation of several laws despite them being anchored in the Constitution.

Land tenure insecurity has been noted to jeopardise investments with the caucus intending to initiate dialogues that would be beneficial to land owners amid slow pace of reforms in the sector.

Kenya Land Alliance and Landesa, the two non-state actors behind the formation of Ardhi Caucus, note that several players within the land sector have registered their displeasure with the slow process of reforms, others feel okay while others are disengaged altogether.

“These frustration reflects the burning desire to have equitable access to resources and secure land tenure systems that the enacted legislations sought to provide,” reads a document drafted by the two bodies.

It adds that one of the challenges contributing to slow implementation of land policies and laws is the multiplicity of stakeholders and diversity of stakes and interests.

“The divisions and disjointed interventions amongst the State and non –state actors on implementation of land policy and land laws has emerged as a critical threat to securing land tenure rights for all in the country,” reads the document.

Hence building a consensus amongst the land sector stakeholders, the document says, is critical in sustaining momentum and pressure for positive change.

“It was important to bring all players together because they felt they were talking to themselves,” Faith Alubbe, Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) Chief Executive explained.

One of the key reforms being undertaken in the country currently is the digitisation of land records which is expected to make land transactions smooth and verifiable.

However, despite this process having been started a decade ago, so far only two counties – Murang’a and Nairobi –have their records live on Ardhisasa platform.

“The launch of Ardhisasa will resolve many issues, particularly in ensuring the security of land ownership records. I want to assure you, no one will be able to fraudulently tamper with your land ownership records,” said former Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome who has been nominated again to the same position.

The Ardhi Caucus has spelt out five thematic areas which will be dealt with by working groups. These are: protection, recognition and promotion of communally held land; tenure security for small holder farmers; access to land justice; women’s land rights and; climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Shadrack Ouma, Landesa Country Director said most land actors in work in silos which is not beneficial to the sector

“How can we talk of tenure security if 60 per cent of our land is not secure? Most people have not done land succession in the country,” he said.

Erick Nyadimo, President Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) detailed the importance of properly mapping the country for the reforms in the sector to go through.

“All the work we do can only succeed if this country is properly mapped. This country is not properly mapped. We advocate mapping every five years,” he said.

The document by Landesa and KLA states that about 70 per cent of the land in the country is community held. And in order for women and men who live in community land areas to feel tenure secure, the land needs to be protected, recognised and registered in the name of the community.

While the Constitution of Kenya and the subsequent enactment of the Community Land Act, 2016, providing the legal means for this, implementation has been slow and ineffective.

“Therefore, there is need for collective dialogue, through a caucus, on how to best unlock community land registration, as a means of protecting the rights of the women and men who live within them,” the document states.

The caucus also seeks to facilitate tenure security for small holder farmers who they say are responsible for 70 per cent of food consumed in the country.

“Incidentally, most smallholder farmers are in rural areas where land tenure security is challenged by myriads of issues such as succession, land boundary disputes and associated conflicts, customs and traditions that deny women access to land and informal land transactions among others,” the document states.

The associated land tenure insecurity arising from these factors, the document says, negatively affects investment confidence and options by small holder farmers, thus jeopardising opportunities.

The caucus will be facilitating multistakeholders dialogues and processes that advocate for improved land administration services. This is to enable smallholder farmers carry out processes such as land succession, formal transactions, mapping of boundaries in rural areas to reduce disputes.

The Ardhi Caucus is structured to convene at three levels: whole caucus meetings; thematic working group meetings and strategic convening.

Whole caucus meetings will have all stakeholders come together to deliberate on specific issues touching on land tenure reforms while thematic working group meetings will have its focus on one of the thematic areas.

Strategic convening will be on land governance and will be at national and county level.

The caucus will have representation from the Ministry of Lands as well as the National Lands Commission and the Council of Governors.