Ikunza, Ignatius (2001) An Alternative Teture Model for Informal Settlements: A Study of Slums in Nairobi. Undergraduate thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.
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Abstract
Land is potentially the most explosive issue in Kenya at the moment, as was the case in Zimbabwe recently, because it is considered the most important economic and social asset. Whereas the population is growing steadily, land itself does not increase. The result is an increased pressure on this very essential resource. Any constraints on the supply of land impacts negatively· on the development of human settlements particularly and the socioeconomic development generally. This paper attempts to study the question of land as it relates to the provision of shelter. The provision of habitable settlements depends on the availability of land because it is on land that structures are situated. Globally, it is estimated that over 1 billion people are inadequately housed and another 100 million are absolutely homeless. In Nairobi, about 55 .6% of the urban population live in the slums, occupying 1.6% of the total residential land (Matrix: 1993). We regard these social inequalities and economic disparities as immoral. The research will examine the situation of informal settlements in Nairobi and the current tenure systems. It has been argued that the problem of informal settlements is rooted in the lack of a secure tenure. Security of tenure is usually equated with a 'title deed' or 'certificate of registration' or 'registered leasehold'. This kind of interest in land was imposed in Kenya by the colonial state. It was based on an English concept of individual ownership of property whose bias is the efficiency of markets for the maximization of profits rather than the social welfare of the wananchi. The statutory law bore and nurtured the myth that customary tenure systems were backward and inconsistent with the concept of a secure tenure. It is widely argued that granting of titles to individuals is more productive and efficient economically and that only registered ownership enjoys a secure tenure, that is security against risk of loss. It is security of investment in land. This school of thought goes on to say that registration provides certainty and security of ownership unlike customary tenure. In practice, title itself does not necessarily provide security. Sometimes titling facilitates loss of land by small holders. In spite of titling and registration, customary law still governs subdivision, sale and succession to land in daily practice. Emerging evidence from the prevailing settlements in Nairobi suggests that the current individual title system is unsuitable for a sustainable urban shelter policy. The judicial mechanisms are also tailored to serve only a registered interest in land. A critical look at some cases in Nairobi involving the informal settlements reveals a tendency of our courts to be agents of the letter of the law rather than the dispensation of justice. They tend to stick too rigidly to the technicalities of statutory law and procedure rather than the ad
| Item Type: | Thesis (Undergraduate) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Informal Settlements, Teture Model, Slums in Nairobi |
| Subjects: | K Law > K Law (General) |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Mr Christopher Mapunda |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Jul 2015 11:48 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Jul 2015 11:48 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/259 |
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