While policy and law on the matter appear clear, the application evokes multiple issues. Practitioners affected, landowners, the government and its agencies have had mixed experiences.
Only last week, some residents who benefited from the compensation of their land for the construction of the Karimenu II dam in Gatundu North were quoted lamenting that the compensation they received was insufficient to afford them alternative land.
A while earlier, the Senate Lands Committee was reported to have instructed the National Land Commission to stop compensation payments for the expansion of the World Bank-funded Isiolo-Modogashe road.
Why? That compensation rates in neighbouring counties differed!
Earlier this year, Gatundu North residents demonstrated to stop the construction of the Ndarugu II dam over land compensation.
Late last year, Mathira residents in Nyeri County marched along the Kenol-Marua dual carriageway, protesting delayed compensation payments.
On the flip side, State agencies such as the roads agencies that need land acquired decry the tedious compensation process.
They cite inordinate project delays, and, in some cases, major escalation of costs.
After identifying land, they forward their requests to the Lands Ministry. The requests are then forwarded to the Land Commission.The Commission has its challenges too.
These include painful past experiences such as the prosecution of some of its members over alleged process malpractice.
To confirm ownership of the affected land, the Commission must obtain ownership data from the Lands Ministry, which maintains the land register.
Obtaining the official searches from the ministry frustrates and takes time.
To ring-fence against perceptions of bias and vested interests, the Commission commits requests forwarded for compensation to a committee, which makes collective decisions.
In some instances, such as the Special Gauge Railway, compensation for land was noted to have greatly contributed to cost escalation.
In his pronouncement in Isiolo, the President indicated that the Lands ministry would take over valuation for compensation.
For this to be done, the Land Act will need to be amended. Granted, the measure may cut delays, and give the Executive overall sway over project execution.
However, it helps to beware that valuation is not an exact science and remains grossly misperceived, and that the compensation is prone to political meddling.
The panacea to this process may, therefore, be beyond the mere shifting of institutional spaces.
