Speculators in land near areas identified for public projects in Kenya will no longer have a say in how much they will get paid as compensation for its compulsory acquisition.
A draft legislation seeking to cap the amount of monetary compensation is proposing amendments to land laws that will make a government valuer the sole authority on how much a parcel earmarked for acquisition is worth, and will favour land swaps to allow projects to go on even as disputes are being resolved in court.
Reducing the cost of land compensation, currently estimated at $700 million annually, and reducing delays caused by judicial proceedings are some of the areas picked out in a recent World Bank Ease of Doing Business report as key impediments to investments in Kenya.
“The government is concerned about the cost of land being inflated by people who are speculating and making it extremely difficult for us to implement mega projects. We are exploring alternative ways of compensating people,” said Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi.
For example, the standard gauge railway, several road projects, the Kitui coal mining, the Kwale titanium mining projects, and the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) corridor are among mega projects in Kenya that have had to negotiate the issue of compensation for land — one that which tends to generate political overtones when communities are involved.