The Land Sector Non State Actors (LSNSA) is a network of civil society organizations working together to promote secure and equitable access to land and natural resource for all through advocacy, dialogue and capacity building. We petition parliament on issues we hold to be of fundamental importance in the context and content of the two bills before the National Assembly.

Institutional framework for land administration and management being a whole set of services that make the land tenure system within Kenya socially, ecologically and economically relevant and operational has generally failed to operationalise the general functional components of land administration i.e. juridical, regulatory, fiscal, cadastral and adjudicative, efficiently. This is because land administration structures and infrastructures are perceived as factors external to the land tenure system itself.

A majority of the Kenyan population live in rural areas accessing land and natural resources through customary systems and institutions that operate largely outside the mainstream legal framework of land administration. Although there are clear provisions in the Constitution and the Trust Land Act on management of trust land there appears to be an unwritten policy on the part of government that sees community land as land that is not owned but rather is available for County Councils and government to appropriate through the setting apart procedure

The purpose of this Issues Paper is to move the debate and stimulate discussion of issues relevant to women’s land rights and social security beyond the unfulfilled demands for gender responsive land policies and land legal framework. It is based on lessons learned from various research findings, Kenya Land Alliance experience and discussions with colleagues with whom we work with in various capacities on land policy and law reforms in Kenya and others parts of Africa.

The figures of public resources estimated to have been channeled into private pockets are so high one hopes, obviously against hope, that they would turn out to be typographical errors. The figures of public resources estimated to have been channeled into private pockets are so high one hopes, obviously against hope, that they would turn out to be typographical errors.

This analysis and recommendations stem from USAID/Kenya’s request for an assessment of Kenya’s draft National Land Policy (dNLP).4 It was conducted under the global task order: Property Rights and Resource Governance Program, a mechanism designed and supervised by USAID-EGAT’s Land Resources Management Team under the Office of Natural Resources Management.

The World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 was a timely New Year rallying event for Kenyans to revisit the fundamental principles for building a democratic and sustainable society as we prepare for December 2007 elections.The current organizing principles of the institutions that govern us in Kenya are narrow and serve the few at the expense of the many millions of Kenyans that live in abject poverty. Yet, from all corners of the country it is acknowledged that it is within our collective ability to create a healthy and sustainable society that serves and work for all

The Role Of Wetlands In Poverty Reduction- Extreme poverty among rural poor people living around wetlands remains a daily reality for more than 56% of Kenya’s population, who subsist on less than one dollar a day. Seventy percent of extremely poor households, a majority of who live in rural areas where hunger and poverty prevails, are now being caught up in a new web of lack of access to wetlands as safety-net during hard times due to appropriation of wetlands by private developers.

The Kenya Land Alliance takes this opportunity to congratulate the Commission of Inquiry into the Land Law Systems of Kenya (‘Njonjo Commission’) for completing their task, which has painstakingly taken them three years. The KLA fraternity was pleased to hear the president’s remarks that the Njonjo report was a blueprint that would guide the future government in handling the delicate land issues efficiently and justly. Equally delighting was the Mr. Njonjo’s remark that wherever they went the wananchi expressed appreciation of their appointment to look into the land question.

The consultancy required a Project Completion Report of DFID’s support to the Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) and advice to DFID on possible future activities that would support pro poor land reform in Kenya. This final report has been prepared following the comments on the draft report by the Hon Kimunya, Minister of Lands and Settlement, and senior managers in the Ministry, the responsible DFID-Kenya officials and KLA’s Co-ordinator.

The Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) organized a two-day workshop in Machakos to brainstorm on important issues that should constitute the Land Reform Process. in addition, come up with a plan of action/activities to be undertaken by various stakeholders. Stakeholder representatives included civil society organizations and NGOs, relevant government departments, local authorities, academicians and lawyers. This report is a summary of issues deliberated.

The Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Lands and Housing (MOLH) has finally embarked on the process of developing a National Land Policy (NLP) that is envisaged to be in place by June 2005. It has been a tortuous journey for many in the civil society and other stakeholders. The NLP will come, as a gratifying culmination of a battle well fought and the win will hopefully be savoured for a very long time to come. The Minister of Lands and Housing, Hon.