Parliament initiated plans to review laws relating to public land ownership after it was listed for first reading on Wednesday, February 15.
The land Amendment Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 40 Of 2022), sponsored by Ruiru lawmaker Simon King'ara, sought to introduce new clauses allowing public institutions to register their pieces of land.
In the Bill, King'ara proposed adopting new laws allowing public institutions or ministries to acquire relevant documents for the land assigned to them by the National Lands Commission (NLC).
The Bill also restricts public institutions from selling, leasing, disposing, or subdividing the allocated parcel.
Defending the tabling of the Bill, King'ara argued that it was key to addressing the menace of public land grabbing in the country.
"As it is presently, public land and land set aside for a public purpose by land buying companies continue to be grabbed by private persons primarily because there exist no certificates of title issued in respect to such land," the Bill read in part.
"The Bill therefore seeks to provide for registration of public land," King'ara further noted.
Ruiru lawmaker further noted that the Bill would not occasion additional expenditure of public funds.
If approved by the National Assembly, the Amendment Bill would also provide a framework for auctioning the land if not used.
"Whenever the national or county government is satisfied that it may be necessary to allocate the whole or part of a specific public land, the Cabinet Secretary or the County Executive Committee member responsible for matters relating to land shall submit a request to the commission for the necessary action by the way of public auction to the highest bidder at prevailing market value," the Bill proposed.
However, public land falling within forest and wildlife reserves or environmentally sensitive areas would not be allocated or auctioned.
The Bill further restricts applicants from entering into other ventures using public land allocated by the commission.
"In fulfilling the requirements of subsection 3, the commission shall ensure that the investments in the land benefit local communities and their economies," the Bill further proposes.
