Survey Act

This Act may be cited as the Survey Act.

States that the Interpretation Section is uniquely linked to the signatory.

The Director may delegate in writing any of his powers, duties or functions to officers appointed under subsection (1), and may revoke or vary delegations; such delegations do not divest the Director of those powers and he may still exercise them.

The Director's principal office is at Nairobi; the Director may establish other offices at places he determines from time to time.

The Director must have and use an official seal bearing the Survey Department badge; the seal may be used only by the Director or by a person the Director authorizes in writing; an electronically processed document with a prescribed security feature is deemed to bear the seal's imprint.

The Director and officers appointed under subsection (1) of section 3 are not personally liable for acts or omissions done in good faith without negligence while performing or purportedly performing powers, duties or functions under this Act or its regulations.

Section 7 establishes the Board's membership (including the Director as Chairperson and specified appointed and elected members), permits the Board to elect a deputy Chairperson, and requires the Board to regulate its own procedure subject to the Act and directions by the Cabinet Secretary.

The Board may appoint a secretary and examiners and other officers as needed, and those appointed shall hold office during the pleasure of the Board.

The Board must conduct examinations of candidates for admission as licensed surveyors in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Qualified persons are entitled to be granted a licence by the Board upon payment of the prescribed fee and in the prescribed form.

Section 10A was repealed.

A person ('he') is entitled to be examined if he has practised land surveying for the period the Board requires and produces the prescribed statutory declaration or other evidence to satisfy the Board.

Section 12(2) lists three factual conditions (a-c) — the person "he" must satisfy the Board that he has field experience, carry out a trial survey to the Board's satisfaction, and satisfy the Board of his capability to conduct surveys under the Act and regulations.

Candidates must apply in writing to the secretary of the Board at least one month before the examination, using the prescribed form and accompanied by the prescribed fee; the fee will be refunded if the candidate is not allowed to be examined.

The Board may require attendance of applicants for the surveyor examination and may examine them on oath or affirmation.

He has attained the age of twenty-one years.

The Board must keep a register of licensed surveyors containing names, addresses, qualifications, the licence date and any other prescribed particulars.

The Board may cancel, suspend (up to three years), fine (up to 1,000 shillings) or reprimand a licensed surveyor; the Board may administer oaths and (subject to regulations) compel witnesses and documents; failure to attend or produce documents when summoned is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding 200 shillings.

A person aggrieved by certain Board decisions may appeal to the High Court within one month; the High Court may give directions (including as to costs); no appeal lies from a High Court order under this section.

The Board may, on its own initiative or on application and after an inquiry, grant a new licence and restore the person's name to the register, or end a licence suspension, either without fee or on payment of a fee not exceeding the licence fee as determined by the Board.

Notice of the grant, revocation, suspension, or termination of the suspension of any licence under this Part shall be published in the Gazette.

Unqualified persons are prohibited from surveying land in ways that affect registration or boundary delimitation; contravention is an offence punishable by a fine up to three thousand shillings, imprisonment up to six months, or both.

Describes the conduct of fraudulently procuring (or attempting to procure) a licence for oneself or another person to be granted a licence by the Board under the Act.

Anyone who wilfully obstructs or hinders a surveyor or their assistant in performing duties or exercising powers under this Act is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months, or both.

Licensed surveyors must perform surveys to comply with the Act and regulations and are responsible for correctness and completeness; the Director may relax accuracy standards for particular surveys by written notice; the Government and public officers are not liable for defective surveys performed by licensed surveyors.

Surveys of land for registration purposes must be carried out under and in accordance with the directions of the Director, except for first registration under the Land Consolidation Act or the Land Adjudication Act.

Section 23 grants the Director and surveyors power to enter land for survey purposes and requires that, when practicable, they give reasonable notice before entry and produce written evidence of authority on entry.

Trigonometrical stations, fundamental benchmarks and boundary beacons erected or placed to define boundaries must be shown on the plan attached to or referred to in documents affecting rights in land.

Trigonometrical stations and fundamental benchmarks are treated as including the land within twenty feet of their centre-mark or pillar, plus a right-of-way to and from it.

No person may carry out rock-blasting within land reserved for a fundamental benchmark.

Grantees must check within sixty days that survey marks on their grant plan are in place; if they cannot find marks and deposit a sufficient sum, the Director must inquire and then either erect marks and refund the sum if marks are missing or forfeit the sum to the Consolidated Fund if marks are present.

Owners and occupiers of land must protect survey marks; they must pay the Director to restore marks removed or damaged (unless another person is convicted under section 29); where a mark is common the restoration cost is divided equally and such cost is a civil debt recoverable summarily.

Tampering with survey marks with intent to defraud is punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.

Surveyors who carry out surveys must send all plans, field notes and computations to the Director (physically or electronically); those records must be deposited in the Survey Office and become Government property.

The Director (or an authorized Government surveyor) may inspect survey work; the Director or an authorized surveyor may order a licensed surveyor to correct errors at the surveyor's expense within a specified time (but not by notice sent more than twelve months after the plan was sent under section 30); if the surveyor refuses the Director may correct and recover costs; if the surveyor then fails to pay within fourteen days the Director may report to the Board, which may order payment and may suspend the licence (up to three years) if the order is not complied with within one month.

A plan must be authenticated by the Director or a Government surveyor authorized by the Director (by signature or by affixing the Survey of Kenya seal) before land is deemed surveyed or resurveyed.

The Director may cancel the authentication of a plan.

Section 34 establishes the Standing Committee on Geographical Names: the Director is Chairperson, ten other members are appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for such period as he may direct, and the Chairperson shall appoint a public officer to be secretary of the Committee.

The Committee must advise the Cabinet Secretary on the spelling of all names on maps of Kenya and must have due regard to historical, orthographical and ethnic considerations.

A notice that specifies or identifies land or area may be sufficient if it refers to an authenticated plan of the land or area deposited in the Survey Office in accordance with section 41.

The authority issuing a notice that refers to a plan authenticated and deposited in the Survey Office may require photographic or lithographic copies of the plan to be made and distributed to specified officials.

Authenticated and identified plans must be deposited in the Survey Office.

Persons intending to do aerial photography for mapping must give the Director written notice at least one month beforehand, must produce photographs for the Director's inspection, and must supply copies at the Director's cost; failure is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings.

Plans authenticated under this Act that appear signed by the Director, a Government surveyor authorised by the Director, or sealed with the Survey of Kenya seal are presumed to have been so signed or sealed until the contrary is proved.

Any person may inspect any boundary plan in the possession of the Survey Department at times the Director notifies.

Section 45 lists specific subjects for regulations and grants the Director a power, after consulting the Board, to require calculations to be submitted in a manner he directs.

Existing officers, offices, appointments, records, plans, approvals, licences, registers, registrations and acts of authority that originated under the Survey Act, 1951 and were in force immediately before this Act continue to have effect under this Act as if they had originated under corresponding provisions of this Act; approvals by the Director under the Survey Act, 1951 are treated as authentications under this Act.