Publication: The role of government policy in effective land administration in Lamu county, Kenya
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2016-10
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Mount Kenya University
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Abstract
Land issues date back to pre colonial era and are mostly attributed to poor policy implementation
that has led to mismanagement and mal-administration in the land sector. While Policy
implementation constitute how the policy is interpreted and enforced, land policy institutions
have faced major setbacks when it comes to goal achievement. The County government in Lamu
is going through some profound challenges in the process of land administration that force them
to offer inadequate services to the public. In this respect, policy implementation is one aspect of
land management. There is a need to review key transparency and accountability issues
surrounding private, communal and public land including loopholes in the legal framework as
well as the role of public administrators and other stakeholders within this land service delivery
system. The purpose of this study was to assess of the influence of government policy on
effective land administration Lamu County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine
the effects of accountability on land administration in Lamu County, to investigate the effects of
legal framework on land administration in Lamu County, to examine the effects of transparency
on land administration in Lamu County, and to investigate the effects of stakeholder participation
on land administration in Lamu County. was A case study of Lamu county was adopted due to
the nature of the study and because it would enable an in-depth assessment of the study
phenomenon. Using Purposive sampling, a target population of 180 from which we can draw 90
respondents was deemed adequate for the study while questionnaires was used to collect data
that was analyzed and presented through tables and charts. Key findings of the study were that
The study established that the system of national land administration was not effective. There
was extensive evidence of residents allocating themselves what is technically public land, at will.
There is increasing levels of tension between communities that consider themselves ‘ethnically
native’ to Lamu versus those considered ‘immigrants’. There has developed a thriving informal
land market where a successful sale is marked by the ‘endorsement of local elders’ some of them
including government chiefs. Land tenure problems include failure of the government to
undertake adjudication of community land rights over lands – which is key to determining an
individual’s personal interest over customary rights in land held in trust by government. Further,
patriarchal rules of administration of tenure rights are still operational, despite changes in the
legal position. Stakeholder’s participation in administrative and governance systems on natural
resources and land is still limited in terms of effectiveness. This study is a source of significant
information for the benefit of the community in Lamu and other stakeholders with interests in
land administration in the county.
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Keywords
Land management, Public policy, Lamu county, Kenya