The National Land Commission (NLC) has protested proposed regulations on electronic land transactions, which the Ministry of Lands released last week, an indication of old wars simmering again.
Lands Principal Secretary (PS) Nicholas Muraguri, in an advertisement in local dailies, said a task force constituted by the ministry had submitted drafts of the intended legislative instruments for review.
In the advert, Dr Muraguri had indicated the proposed Land Transactions (Electronic) Regulations, 2020 were endorsed by the NLC.
But in a letter to the Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney seen by the Daily Nation, NLC Chairman Gershom Otachi distanced the commission from the advert, saying the regulations are unconstitutional.
He also accuses the task force of usurping its mandate by taking up of some of the commission’s roles in the letter dated May 8, 2020.
The proposed statutory instruments include the Land Registration (Electronic Transactions) Regulations, 2020, Survey (Electronic Cadastre Transactions), Regulations 2020, Stamp Duty (Amendment) Regulations, 2020, Stamp Duty (Valuation) Regulations, 2020, and Land (Amendment) Regulations, 2020.
Others are Land (Extension and Renewal of Leases) (Amendment) Rules 2020, the Land (Allocation of Public Land) (Amendment, Regulations) 2020 and Physical and Land Use Planning (Electronic Development Control and Enforcement System) Regulations, 2020.
DUE PROCESS
Mr Otachi blamed the ministry for indicating that Land (Extension and Renewal of Leases) (Amendment) Rules 2020 were done by NLC under Section 13(2) of the Land Act, 2012.
“NLC has neither contemplated nor resolved to propose any regulation or originated any such idea. As such, the public notice published in the newspaper is misleading,” Mr Otachi said.
He added : “The task force that formulated the proposed regulations was not set up jointly or in consultation so as to derive any mandate to propose regulations on the commission’s behalf or by yourself and NLC. Also, the report from the task force – which purportedly came up with radical unconstitutional proposals underlying the draft regulations – is yet to be shared with us.”
The commission asserts that it supports the development and implementation of the electronic registration system to enhance transparency and ease of conducting business at the Lands registries.
But this, it asserts, should be done in a proper consultative manner. “An advert that creates a false impression that NLC, which has a statutory and constitutional mandate to propose regulations, has proposed amendments to regulations when it has not even considered the matter is plainly wrong,” the chairman wrote.
SUBMIT VIEWS
Stakeholders have been given 14 days to input their views on the regulations on electronic land transactions starting May 8 through emails or written memorandums.
The regulations seek to establish a digital National Land Information System to provide an efficient and effective land administration system and to improve ease of doing business by cutting time for property registration.
They are also meant to establish an electronic payment system to improve revenue collection, reduce paper work and improve storage.