Ketraco: The process of land acquisition for power lines construction

By Neville Otuki

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) is mandated to plan, construct and operate high voltage electricity transmission network (132kV and above) and associated substations in the country.

Before construction, a lot of work goes into planning and consultation, the main one being getting the right of way (wayleave) along which the power lines supported by pylons traverse.

The first step is sensitization of stakeholders, including land parcel owners across which the proposed line will run through. This is then followed by socio-economic survey to identify the people and property to be affected, after which the company performs due diligence to establish eligibility for compensation, followed by valuation of assets that stand to be uprooted.

What is a wayleave?

A wayleave is a written legal agreement that allows Ketraco to construct and maintain transmission lines on privately-owned land.

Policy on compensation

Structures

Any structures including semi-permanent and permanent houses, cattle sheds, bomas or outhouses that are within the wayleave are compensated at the current market value.  A social disturbance allowance of 15 per cent is paid above the market value.

Compensation for structures is paid as soon as valuation is done and before line construction starts. 70 per cent of the valuation is paid at the beginning and 30 per cent after demolition of structures in the way.

Land

The new Land Act requires all government agencies to apply for gazettement of planned wayleaves corridors with the National Land Commission (NLC) which then takes over the responsibility of resolving disputes during construction.

A survey of the total area affected by the wayleave is determined and marked before construction starts. The land owners are informed and details of the individual land parcels affected are determined in conjunction with the Ministry of Lands’ registries in the region.

The wayleave required for 132kV line is 30 metres in size meaning 15 metres on either side. A 40-metre wayleave is required for 220kV lines, while 400kV and 500kV lines require 60 metres of space allowance. People are not allowed to build any structures like houses or bomas inside the wayleave corridor, as a way of ensuring they’re out of harm’s way.

To this end, the total area covered by the corridor is calculated and compensated at the rate of 30 per cent of the current market value. It’s important to note that Ketraco does not pay 100 per cent or a higher percentage than 30 percent. This is because the agency is not buying the land from the owner, but simply asking for a right-of-way.

The compensation is only as a way of reparation for the loss of land use or the diminished rights over its utilization. However, in cases where the 30-metre corridor takes up more than 50 per cent of the land (in cases of plots), Ketraco could consider a higher rate in compensation.

Ketraco requires the land owner to submit their title for verification.

Crops

Any crops that are within the wayleave during construction or are destroyed as a result of contractor’s works are assessed during construction.

Normally, crop enumeration is carried out by a team of crop enumerators during bush clearance. Ideally, bush clearance is done over the central 10-metre corridor during final survey or pegging, followed by clearance of trees that may grow beyond 12 feet in height at maturity over the entire corridor width, just before the line is energized.

Once the damaged crop/trees are enumerated, the details are entered into a Crop Damage Report (CDR) which is a serialized accounting document. The land owner or his/her personal representative countersigns as a confirmation of the actual damage occasioned by the works, then he/she retains a copy for records purposes. Each CDR has a special number printed in red on the top right hand side corner. This is the number each affected person is to use while pursuing payments for crop/tree damaged.

The rates adopted for crop assessment are normally obtained from Kenya Forest Services (KFS) (for trees) and the Ministry of Agriculture (for crops). These rates are revised from time to time.

Once assessment is completed approval is sought from the company management for payment to be made.