By KPC Reporter
The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Lands and Physical Planning on Tuesday deliberated on revenue and expenditure estimates proposed by the State Department for the 2026/27 financial year.
The meeting with Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir was chaired by North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko and focused on budget allocations, implementation bottlenecks in the lands sector, and reforms aimed at improving land administration and settlement programmes across the country.
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Among the issues raised was the stalled construction of land registries in several regions.
PS Korir told the Committee that the projects are fully funded through Appropriations-in-Aid (AIA), but warned that differing contract arrangements across registries had delayed implementation. He noted that some contracts had already expired, exposing the government to possible penalties and accrued interest.
The Committee also reviewed progress in the digitization of land registries, a reform the PS described as critical but slowed by security validation procedures and the absence of a comprehensive cadaster system.
The delays, he said, have affected retrieval of land records and slowed land transactions, hurting the ease of doing business.
Under the proposed estimates, the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning has been allocated a development budget of Sh10.1 billion, an increase of Sh5.3 billion from the 2026 Budget Policy Statement ceiling.
The allocation includes Sh1 billion in World Bank funding under the Kenya Housing Finance, Land and Sustainable Investment Project.
The Committee was informed that recurrent expenditure for the National Land Commission would reduce by Sh2.37 billion compared to the 2025/26 approved estimates.
The biggest cuts were recorded under Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution and Settlement of Historical Land Injustices, while Headquarters Administration Services received the highest increase of Sh128 million.
On compulsory land acquisition, Sh435 million has been allocated, including Sh300 million for the Nairobi Eastern Bypass and Sh135 million for the Nairobi Southern Bypass.
Settlement of the landless emerged as the highest-funded programme with an allocation of Sh8.22 billion.
The funding includes Sh1.72 billion for acquisition of the Kedong Ranch land parcel, Sh5 billion for settlement programmes at the Coast, and Sh1.49 billion for other settlement initiatives nationwide.
The Committee was also invited to Mombasa for the issuance of title deeds and the launch of new settlement schemes aimed at resolving historical land disputes in the coastal region.
President William Ruto is expected to chair a high-level meeting on historical land injustices and the issue of absentee landlords at the Coast.
Legislators noted that some absentee landowners had expressed willingness to surrender land back to local communities in a move expected to help resolve decades-old disputes affecting thousands of families.
