Lands Principal Secretary, Nixon Korir, has revealed that the government owes Kenyans Ksh18 billion from penalties and fines imposed by various courts in legal disputes with the state.
Korir made the revelation while appearing before the National Assembly Lands Committee on Tuesday, August 8.
The PS, who heads the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning, stated that the money was yet to be released to the public despite countless appeals by a section of aggrieved landowners.
He thus urged the committer to expedite the settlement of these pending bills while emphasising the need to prevent interests from accruing.
Korir warned that the government was already facing challenges in disbursing the payments, and the accrued interests will soon pose another headache.
In the current financial year, the State Department of Lands and Physical Planning was allocated Ksh 350 million to offset the pending bills, an amount that Korir stated was Ksh17 million short of the mark.
However, the committee led by North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko claimed that the payments may be politically instigated. Lawmakers thus called for a thorough inquiry to ascertain the legality of the pending bills.
Korir, in response to the query, stated that anyone culpable of committing such an offence intentionally must be held to account.
It was yet to be clear whether the committee would authorise the release of the funds and the timeline for the disbursement of the payments.
In other related developments, PS Korir also witnessed the signing of the agreement between the government and the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) on sectional properties, which are units within a development.
According to the agreement signed at Ardhi House, Lands Ministry headquarters, owners of sectional properties have a window of six months to obtain title deeds.
The moratorium temporarily lifts the requirements for getting apartments to have georeferencing before they can be titled. Georeferencing is an internal coordinate system of a digital map or aerial photo that relates the boundaries of a parcel of land to a specific or unique location.
"I want to commit that we will work with you to serve Kenyans better. We will not engage in monologues and pretend to know everything, " stated the PS in the meeting attended by Abraham Samoei, outgoing ISK, his successor Eric Nyadimo and Abdulkhadir Khalif, the chairman of the Association of Registered Land Surveyors of Kenya.
Last week, the Law Society of Kenya and the Kenya Bankers Association signed the agreement. Korir is expected to issue a circular that will notify the public of the period when the deal comes into effect and when it ends.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the Sectional Properties Act No. 21 of 2020 into law and repealed the Sectional Properties Act 1987. The new Act was enacted in line with the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Land Act No. 6 of 2012, the Land Registration Act No. 3 of 2012 and the National Land Commission Act No. 5 of 2012.
The Act simplifies the process of registering titles for apartments, townhouses, and office units, among others.
