The Land Control Bill, 2022
The Land Control Bill, 2022 which was gazetted on 25th February 2022 seeks to repeal and replace the Land Control Act (Cap 302). The main objective of the bill is to align the law governing dealings in agricultural land with the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 as well as other land related laws. One of the proposals of the Bill is the establishment of Land Control Committees in each constituency.
Further the Bill seeks to establish Land Control Appeals Committees which will handle appeals that emanate from the Land Control Committees. The controlled transactions as proposed under the Bill are transactions relating to: –
- land that is not designated as a city or an urban area.
- land that is designated for agricultural use under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act; and
- land that is utilized for agricultural purposes.
The controlled transactions under this Act are broadened to include land that is utilized for agricultural purposes which was not the case in the Land Control Act (Cap 302). The scope of mandate of the Land Control Committee has also been broadened compared to the mandate of the Land Control Boards. The Committees will have the mandate to grant consent for the issue, sale, transfer, mortgage, or any other disposal or dealing with any share in a company, a corporate society or any other entity that owns agricultural land.
A. Impact
The implication for this provision if the bill is passed is that companies and other entities that own agricultural land will be required to seek the consent of the Land Control Committee before the transfer or any other form of disposal of shares. This will ultimately lengthen the transaction process. While the Land Control Act (Cap 302), contemplates approvals for shares in private companies as well as co-operative society, the Bill seeks to apply to dealings involving shares in publicly listed companies as well as limited liability partnerships. This has an effect of hampering the transfer of shares in publicly listed companies. The fact that the regulatory regime does not allow foreigners to own land on a freehold basis, the implication of such a provision is that they will not be able to own shares in publicly listed companies that own land in Kenya.
If the bill is passed the committees will be required to determine the application for consent within a period of thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the application for consent. The committees will also have a mandate to determine and settle any disputes that have been referred to it by willing parties as well as matters that have been referred to it by the Environment and Land Court. The bill is yet to be passed and we shall update you on any developments to the same.
