Land Administration in Kenya: The Case For Leading and Managing Change

Abstract

The state of Land administration and management in Kenya has, despite numerous reform efforts, remained fractured and uncoordinated over time. With the adoption of the National Land Policy in 2009, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the creation of the National Land Commission (NLC), Land administration and management straddles across two institutions i.e., the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, which is created under the Executive Order 2018, and the independent constitution commission, National Land Commission. The land administration functions straddles between the two entities with a performance that is less than satisfactory. Over the years, task forces and commissions have been set up to address the need for security tenure, protection and enforcement of land rights. Most often the solutions proffered have been bureaucratic, administrative and in some cases legal. It is, however, our proposition that strategic leadership through leading and managing change, can play a key role in improving performance of the land administration and management function. The study sought to investigate the influence of leading and managing change on the performance of land administration function in Kenya. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The target population was 2880 staff who work on land administration and sampled customers who access their services. The Slovin's Formula was used to estimate the sample size. The sample of 351, was arrived at through a stratified random sampling method. In addition, the research employed document analysis at the respective headquarters of the National Land Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22). Descriptive statistics included frequency distribution, mean (the measure of central tendency), standard deviation (the measure of dispersion) and percentages. Besides, inferential statistics include regression analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. Thematic content analysis will be used for qualitative analysis and presented in a narrative form. The study established that leading and managing change has positive and a statistically significant effect on the performance of the Land Administration and management function in Kenya (β1=0.468; p-value=0.000). The study recommends that the top management in the two organizations should formulate and implement programmes aimed at motivating, rewarding innovativeness and creativity among the employees. In addition, the study recommends that both the Ministry and the NLC should make an effort of increasing the budget for staff training. This will equip the employees with the needed skills to carry out their duties hence improving service delivery