Formulating a sectoral approach to urban land policy: The case of Kenya

1. Formulating a sectoral approach to urban land policy: The case of Kenya Robin McLaren Know Edge Ltd robin.mclaren@knowedge.com Land Governance in Support Of The MDGs: Responding To New ChallengesWashington, DC March 9th & 10th 2009

2. Outline • Kenya at a glance • The land legacy • The new National Land Policy • Challenges & responses to implementing the National Land Policy Land Governance & MGDs

3. Key Messages / Issues • Is the new National Land Policy a step too far and fast for politicians to endorse? • Can Kenya afford the implementation or should more pragmatic and cheaper solutions be adopted? • How can we create multi-sectoral solutions when components of government aren’t joined up? • Can the role of the citizen in gathering information for urban land administration and management be better exploited? Land Governance & MGDs

4. Kenyan at a Glance • Country’s population ~ 37.5 million at an overall growth rate of 2.6% (2007). • Only 15% of the land is fit for agricultural production. • Absolute poverty in the urban areas now stands 49%. • The land distribution pattern in Kenya is very much skewed. In Nairobi 5% of the land is currently housing 75% of the city’s population. Land Governance & MGDs

5. Urbanisation • Increase in urbanisation: 1963 8% 1989 19% 2015 ~50% • Some urban centres, Nairobi in particular, have doubled in population over the past decade. Land Governance & MGDs

6. Kenya and Land • Land was a key reason for the struggle for independence and land issues remain politically sensitive and culturally complex. Land Governance & MGDs

7. Kenya and Land Legacy • It was expected that the transfer of power from colonial authorities to indigenous elites would lead to fundamental restructuring of the legacy on land. • This did not materialise and the result was a general re-entrenchment and continuity of colonial land policies, laws and administrative infrastructure. [Source: www.twitter.com] Land Governance & MGDs

8. Urban Planning • The majority of developments within the Kenyan urban centres are haphazard and have mainly taken place outside urban planning intervention. • Physical planning is beset nationally by a complex institutional arrangement. [Source: World Bank] Land Governance & MGDs

9. Economic & Physical Planning • This situation is exacerbated by the glaring disconnect between national economic planning process and physical planning. • Consequently, the physical development plans have not been recognised as essential instruments for the development of urban centres, which are engines of growth. Land Governance & MGDs

10. Housing Production and Demand by Income Categories [Source: Department of Housing, Government of Kenya, 2006] Land Governance & MGDs

11. Informal Settlements • Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya (Nubian word meaning "forest" or "jungle." ) • Largest slum in Africa with estimated 0.6M -1.2M population • Even though Kenya’s informal settlements house the majority of the country’s urban population, the residents of these settlements are treated as if they were invisible. Land Governance & MGDs

12. New National Land Policy for KenyaA Key Component of the Solution “To guide the country towards efficient, sustainable and equitable use of land for prosperity and posterity” Land Governance & MGDs

13. Inclusive Process of Formulating National Land Policy • Process launched at a Stakeholders’ Workshop in February 2004, with a wide range of participants drawn from public and private sectors and civil society. • Approved by the Cabinet in September 2007 • Not approved by Parliament prior to the national elections in December 2007 • Still not approved by current parliament Land Governance & MGDs [Source: www.bbc.co.uk]

14. National Land PolicyKey Changes to Land Governance • A democratic and decentralised land governance system. • Rationalised land laws. • Communal ownership of land and customary land rights re-established. • Overall framework for dealing with land use planning, development control and environmental management issues. Land Governance & MGDs

15. National Land PolicyKey Changes to Land Governance • Land Information Management System as part of National Spatial Data Infrastructure. • Improved opportunities for tax collection. • Multi-sectoral approach taking into account all related sectors such as agriculture, livestock, water, energy, human settlement, industry, tourism, wildlife, forestry and fisheries. Land Governance & MGDs

16. National Land Policy Support of MGDs 1a 1b 3a 7a 7d 8f Goal 1 Eradicate Extreme Poverty Goal 3 Promote Gender Equality Goal 7 Ensure Environ Sustain Goal 8 Develop Global Partner Economic, Social & Environmental Policies New National Land Policy Land Governance & MGDs

17. Key Challenges in Implementing the NLP Political Support • Politicians have most to loose - they have used land as political favours and used their powers to acquire land. Response • Collaboratively develop a robust business case to prioritise the implementation of the policy to maximise the return on investment. • Use the economic justification to leverage support and convince politicians and senior civil servants of the policy’s role in the structural development and transformation of the economy, leading to growth, poverty reduction and social stability. • Place Land in the heart of the national development framework. Land Governance & MGDs

18. Key Challenges in Implementing the NLP Affordability • GDP in 2006 of US$22.8 billion and a total debt/GDP of US$28.7 billion. • NLP costs exceed US$250 million over 6 years. Response • Create a sustainable business model to support land administration and management. • Build trust between the land governance arrangements and the financial services sector. • Continually seek faster, cheaper and more innovative solutions for land administration. Land Governance & MGDs

19. Key Challenges in Implementing the NLP Reduction in Corruption • The Kenya Bribery Index 2005 showed that 65.7% of the people visiting the Ministry of Lands might be asked for a bribe. Response • Create fully accountable and independent land governance arrangements supported by a Land Information Management System to generate the necessary transparency and accountability. Land Governance & MGDs

20. Key Challenges in Implementing the NLP Solutions to Informal Settlements • Estimated housing demand will be 12 million quality dwelling units by 2030. • Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme to improve the lives and livelihoods of an estimated 5.4M people in slums and informal settlements in urban areas by 2020 – only a few hundred last year. Response • Need slum upgrading and prevention tools that are less complex and resource intensive, are built around a ‘range of rights’ and are scalable. Land Governance & MGDs

21. Key Challenges in Implementing the National Land Policy Multi-sectoral Approach • Effective land management requires coordination and cooperation among different sector such as agriculture, water, energy, industry, tourism, etc. • Current institutional arrangements and behaviour don’t support the necessary level of co-operation. Response • This requires strong relationships at the central government level to co-ordinate policies as well at the local level to co-ordinate implementation. • This level of cooperation is challenging for any government and may require institutional reforms to allow it to happen more effectively. • Need to integrate land policy with the economic growth and poverty reduction policies. Land Governance & MGDs

22. Key Challenges in Implementing the NLP Land Information Management System (LIMS) • Kenya faced with customising a LIMS solution to manage their formal and customary tenures. • High costs and on-going license fees. Response • Develop a generic LIMS solution that is based on open standards and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). • Capacity build rather than pay licenses fees – more sustainable solution. Land Governance & MGDs

23. Key Challenges in Implementing the NLP Urban Change Information • Incomplete and poorly maintained land administration registers do not provide effective urban change information. Response • Adopt a citizen, centric urban sensing paradigm that uses crowdsourcing as an effective source of urban change and land information. • Increase use of m(mobile)-government services based on cellular phones – land title on a phone. Land Governance & MGDs

24. Crowdsourcing Example -Ushahidi • Allows Africans caught up in political unrest to report incidents of killing, violence and displacement. • An open source tool to crowdsource information in times of crisis. • A simple goal to aggregate information from the public for use in crisis response. Ushahidi is used to identify areas where aid is required http://www.ushahidi.com Land Governance & MGDs

25. Land Governance & MGDs

26. Final Messages • Integrate land policy with the economic growth and poverty reduction policies. • Provide a set of tools to convince politicians to place Land within the heart of the national development framework. • Develop more pragmatic and cheaper land administration and management solutions, especially for slum upgrading and prevention. • Engage citizens more effectively in urban information collection to support land administration and management. Land Governance & MGDs