Thursday, 15 May, 2025
PAC grills Lands and Physical Planning Secretary Hon. Nixon Korir over audit queries on land assets, irregular payments and digitisation of land records
Bunge Tower, Parliament Buildings Wednesday, May 14th, 2025.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday engaged Principal Secretary for the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, Hon . Nixon Korir, over audit queries flagged in the National audit report for the department for the year ended June 2023.
The session, chaired by Hon. Tindi Mwale (Butere), took place at Bunge Towers, Parliament Buildings, and focused on unresolved issues including asset valuation, compensation payments, land ownership documentation, and digitisation of services.
During the meeting, PS Korir informed the committee that the acquisition of assets by the Ministry is a continuous process.
He admitted that while specific timelines for completion remain undefined, staffing constraints have largely been addressed.
“Previously, there was only one valuer per county, but we now have valuation teams operating in regions such as Rift Valley and Central Kenya,” he said, adding that the Ministry is also prioritising digitisation of services.
However, committee members raised tough questions on the Ministry’s internal land ownership status and compensation procedures.
Aldai MP Hon. Marianne Keitany questioned how the Ministry could guide the public when it struggles to account for its own land assets.
“If the Ministry of Lands has issues with its own land, how will it help the public?” she posed.
On the other hand, Mathioya MP Hon. Dr. Edwin Mugo pressed the PS for the depreciated value of the Ministry’s assets and sought an update on the digitisation process.
“Other departments are digitising their services—how far along are you with asset digitisation?” he asked.
Turkana Central MP Hon. Joseph Namuar expressed concern over inconsistencies in land compensation, citing cases where some parties were fully paid while others received partial or no payment.
“We need to understand the criteria used in making these payments,” he said. He also demanded documentation on court orders relating to the payments and the negotiation processes involved.
Hon. Mwale reminded PS Korir that similar issues had been flagged during the 2020/2021 financial year.
“It was budgeted for more valuers. Since you now have 129 valuers, kindly expedite the report. This Committee expects that by the next financial year, this audit query will not recur,” he stated.
In response, PS Korir explained that some compensation payments were handled by the Ministry of Transport and Roads and that no disbursements were made without formal letters from the Attorney General’s office. He added that a Public Utility Committee had been established to oversee land titling and accountability.
On the issue of digitisation, Korir highlighted that the ARDHISASA platform is now fully operational.
“Payments are processed nationwide through the system, which is integrated with e-Citizen to eliminate cash transactions,” he noted.
The Committee directed the PS to submit a comprehensive report within one week, detailing: All court cases related to compensation, including those on appeal and those concluded; the criteria used in selecting payment beneficiaries, as well as documentation of ongoing projects and their respective start dates