ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the conditions prevailing in a particular African country, Kenya, with a view to identifying the various arenas in which market activity takes place. The likelihood of success in securing a plot is therefore dependent only partly on the ability to pay and largely on social connections, daring, and allegiance to the right leaders. Kenya is one of the many African countries where there is a mixture of public, private and communal ownership of land. Public land acquisition is an important tool for regulating the supply of residential land. Land acquisition legislation in Kenya is clear and specific. All landowners in urban areas, including the government, have to pay rates, which are based on the market value of unimproved land. That is, only the land is taxed, not the buildings, although to the property owner this distinction is academic.
