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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CORE ISSUES ADDRESSED IN THE NATIONAL LAND POLICIES IN EIGHT COUNTRIES OF EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA + CAMBODIA (Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) Prepared by: Eugene H. Silayo Visiting Scientist,

ITC, PGM/Land Administration, June-August 2007

Contact: Ardhi University, P.O. Box 35176, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Email: silayo@aru.ac.tz or ehsilayo@yahoo.co.uk ITC, The Netherlands August 2007.

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Contents S/N Theme Page 1.0 Background information 1 1.1 Geographical features in relation to land uses and population pattern. 6 2.0 The problem statement 8 2.1 Vision of policy 13 2.2 Mission of policy 13 2.3 Objectives of policy 17 2.4 Policy formulation process 20 2.5 Review of policy 22 3.0 Land Administration 23 3.0.1 Categories of land 29 3.0.2 Authority responsible for land administration 33 3.1 Land Tenure 35 3.1.1 Land tenure types 43 3.2 Access to land (Acquisition of land) 45 3.2.1 Women access to land /(Gender and equity issues) 51 3.2.2 Non-citizens access to land 54 3.2.3 Access to land for investment purposes 55 3.2.4 Expropriation of land 57 3.2.5 Land value and valuation 59 3.2.6 Land market operations 61 3.2.7 Protection of vulnerable groups 64 3.2.8 Land hoarding/ speculation, Ceiling and revocation 69 3.3 Land Registration 72 3.3.1 Land adjudication/ Dispute resolution and land registration. 77 3.3.2 Registration of customary interests in land, and Village titling 81 3.3.3 Decentralization of land administration and management 86 3.3.4 Public-private partnership 89 3.4 Surveys and Mapping 91 3.4.1 Village demarcation 97 3.4.2 International boundary demarcation 101 3.5 Land Information Management 101 3.6 Urban and Rural Land Use Planning (Spatial planning) 105 3.6.1 Effective Planning for Urban development 105 3.6.2 Urban and peri-urban land use planning, and Development of intermediate

settlements 108

3.6.3 Informal urban settlements 114 4.0 Land use management 120 4.1 Recognition of existing land tenure before assigning new land uses 123 4.2 Common land based natural resource tenure policy and benefit sharing 124 4.3 Environmental management 129 4.4 Rangelands and livestock keeping 134 4.5 Resolution of historical injustices 137 4.6 Land policy for military areas 138 5.0 Institutional framework 138 5.1 Land Taxation 141 6.0 Capacity building 144 7.0 Implementation of the National Land Policy 146

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Comparative Analysis of Core Issues Addressed in the National Land Policies in Eight Countries of Eastern and Southern Africa + Cambodia This document has been prepared by Eugene H. Silayo during lectureship visit to ITC: June-August 2007. In this document, each theme numbered from 1.0-7.0, is accompanied by a summary which condenses contents 1-8 of the country policy issues in the same column. (Namibia’s policy document was available after this comparative analysis had been done). The purpose of this work is to serve as a basis for further research, analysis and publication. S/N Comparative Analysis of country policy Issues

1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Summary Introduction National Land Policies of nine countries have been examined. They have been arranged as the policy documents became available to the researcher. The countries are Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Cambodia, Swaziland, Zambia and Namibia. Five policies have been finalized and are already being implemented in their respective countries. The rest are still in draft form. Those which are being implemented are of Cambodia, Rwanda, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Based on their contents, three of those in draft form appear to be at an advanced stage of the formulation process. They are of Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. The one of Swaziland appears to be at a much early stage of formulation. The dates for the national Land Policy documents used were dated as follows: Kenya (March 2007), Tanzania (second edition of 1997), Uganda (January 2007), Rwanda (February 2005), Malawi (January 2002), Kingdom of Cambodia (September 2002), Swaziland (February 2004), Zambia (October 2006) and Namibia (1998). Two National Land Policies relate to countries which are emerging from conflicts. They are for Cambodia and Rwanda. Two have Kingdoms, which make them have unique characteristics compared to the others. These are for the Kingdoms of Cambodia and Swaziland. The impacts of these two distinct features, namely post conflict situation and kingdoms, in the national land policies are implicitly reflected in this analysis. These policies have been studied in terms of the core themes namely, the background information which serves as introduction to this document, setting proper perspectives of where and why the country was in such situation. The other themes are: the problem statement, vision of policy, mission of policy, objectives of policy, policy formulation process, review of policy, land administration, land tenure, access to land, land registration, surveys and mapping, urban and rural planning (spatial planning), land information management, land use management, legal framework, institutional framework, and implementation of the national policies. Most of these core themes have been subdivided into sub themes.

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Background to National Land Policy Formulation The documents examined state clearly that the post independence governments re-entrenched and continued with the colonial land policies, laws and administrative infrastructures. There had, therefore, not been any comprehensive land policies on land tenure administration to guide land allocation, ownership, land use and management and conflict/dispute resolution. The policy documents were the first ever National Land Policies (NLP) to have been formulated in the respective countries. The formulation of the NLP therefore emanated from the need to address key issues which had emerged since independence and could not be systematically addressed using policies, laws and infrastructure of the colonial regimes. Among the key issues were rapid increase of population, notably in urban areas, breakdown in land administration and land delivery procedures, insecure customary tenure, gender and discrimination in access to land and exclusion of women in land decision making process, growing squatter/informal settlements (Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia); remove historical imbalance/injustices (Kenya and Zambia); inadequate participation by communities in governance and management of land and natural resources, general disregard for land use planning, multiplicity of legal regimes related to land, wanton destruction of forests, catchment areas and areas of unique biodiversity (Kenya); investors wishing to acquire large pieces of land, the need to recognize land markets, addressing problems arising from the villagization programme of the 1970s (Tanzania); establish land law (which never existed before), address insecurity, instability and precariousnesses of land tenure, establish legal framework for rational use of land and put in place adequate human, material and financial resources (Rwanda); securing customary rights (Malawi); provide a sound institutional framework for clarifying and documenting rights to land, managing land for sustainable economic and social benefit and making provision for its equitable distribution (Cambodia); accept the significance of land markets and address the question of land racketeering activities and the growth of uncontrolled informal settlements (Zambia). 1. Kenya The post independence Kenya government re-entrenched and continued with the colonial land policies, laws and administrative infrastructure. The issue of landless natives proved a thorny one for present (2007) government prompting it to institute measures to appease the vocal Africans still clamouring for the land taken from them. Land is seen as a finite, economic resource to which members of society should have equitable access, utilize it sustainably and as it is a cultural heritage, it should be conserved for future generations. The economies of nearly all Kenyan communities remain largely dependent on land for livelihoods. Existence of many statutes favouring the statutory land tenure system (based on principles of English property law) and neglecting the customary property system, treating it as an inferior system. This view is manifested by the existing policies and laws which assume that only individual tenure can ensure

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economic productivity and thus individualized all modes of tenure, especially customary tenure. Other challenges include: • Rapid population growth. • Breakdown in land administration and land delivery procedures • Inadequate participation by communities in governance and management of

land and natural resources. • General disregard for land use planning. • Multiplicity of legal regimes related to land • Gross disparities in land ownership, gender and discrimination in

succession, transfer of land and the exclusion of women in land decision making process.

• Severe tenure insecurity due to overlapping rights. • Landlessness and squatter phenomena. • Wanton destruction of forests, catchment areas and areas of unique

biodiversity. 2. Tanzania From the time of attainment of independence, Tanzania mainland had been longing to establish a comprehensive land policy to govern tenure, land use management and administration. This was propelled by various factors that included increase of human population with attending competition for surveyed plots in urban areas, large livestock population that raised the demand for grazing land and at times conflicting with farmers, cultivation of marginal land, prospective investors wishing to acquire large pieces of land, the villagization of the 1970s affected customary land tenures, the need to recognize existence of land markets in urban and rural areas and thus the need to set up clear policy on the same, and to accommodate decisions of the court of appeal affirming customary tenure rights in areas affected by villagization in the 1970s. So there was a need for a comprehensive land policy to guide land allocation, ownership, use of land and to resolve recurring land conflicts. The policy is applicable to Tanzania Mainland only. It does not apply in the Isles of Zanzibar as land is not a Union matter. 3. Uganda In 1900 and 1901, the British Colonial authorities respectively granted in Buganda, estates called Mailo, and in Toro and Ankole native freeholds, the latter were akin to the English freehold. This conferment gave traditional rulers absolute control of land. The rest of Uganda was declared to be “Crown Land”. Furthermore, the British authorities asserted the right to control and manage the use of land. The independence constitution (1962) established a National Land Commission to hold and manage land formerly held by the imperial government as “Crown Land” (henceforth renamed “Public Land”). The independence constitution did not affect land vested in the traditional rulers. The 1975 Land Reform Decree declared all land in Uganda public land and further provided that access to land would henceforth be on the basis of leasehold tenure only. The decree vested all land in the state to be held in

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trust for the people of Uganda and to be administered by the Land Commission. The decree was not fully implemented. The 1995 Constitution restored the systems of land tenure that were in existence at independence and declared that land would henceforth belong to the citizens of Uganda. The Uganda Land Commission was re-established. District Land Boards were established in every district but these operated independent of the Commission. Furthermore, the Constitution provided that Parliament would establish Land Tribunals to determine disputes relating to the grant, lease, repossession, transfer or acquisition of land by individuals, the Uganda Land Commission or other authorities with responsibility over land. Finally the Constitution reaffirmed the authority of the state to make laws regulating the use of land. 4. Rwanda Apart from a few scattered land regulations, most of which date back to the colonial period, Rwanda has never had a proper land policy nor has it ever had a land law, a situation that enhances the existing duality between the very restrictive written law and the widely practiced customary law, giving rise to insecurity, instability and precariousness of land tenure. The land tenure system in pre-colonial Rwanda was characterized by the collective ownership of land. Families were grouped in lineages which were in turn grouped in clans. Each clan had a chief who was in charge of the land “Umutware w’ubutaka” or the in charge of livestock “Umutware w’umukenke”. Land ownership was more community based than individual. Land rights were respected and passed on from generation to generation. These rights were enjoyed under the supreme protection of the King, the grantor of the well being of the whole population. During colonial rule, the German authorities (1885 – 1916) recognized the King’s authority over land. According tp the 1885 decree, vacant land was considered as state owned land while all occupied land remained subject to customary law. The Belgian authorities introduced written laws in order to guarantee land tenure security for settlers and other foreigners wishing to invest in land. After independence, 90% of the country’s arable land is still governed by customary law. Lack of an adequate legal framework is an impediment to the rational use of land. Certain existing laws have never been applied due to lack of implementation ministerial decrees and the absence of efficient punitive measures against offenders. Examples include that law of 30th March 1982 concerning soil conservation and that of 5th December 1988 concerning the administration of forests in Rwanda. Inadequate human, material and financial resources. For example, the cadastral system, which is at the core of land administration, requires trained and motivated staff as well as an enormous amount of material and financial resources, which the country lacks.

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5. Malawi The colonial land policy appropriated land to British sovereign and facilitated access by the settler community to private title. Native rights were defined as being strictly “occupation rights” in order to discourage the establishment of land rights equivalent to freehold or the concession claimed by the settlers. The passage of the Nyasaland Order in Council in 1902, allowed the general application of English law supplemented by specific enactments based on English property law. The Land ordinance of 1951 defined land as public, private or customary. Two other legislations of 1967 namely: the Registered Land Act (cap 58:01) and the Customary Land Development Act (Cap 59:01) had limited application in securing customary rights. 6. Cambodia On May 16, 2001 the Council of Ministers approved an initial Statement of Land policy. The statement enunciates a set of objective and fundamental tasks to be accomplished in the land era. Policy planning is a conscious effort on the part of stakeholders to achieve goals for resource administration, management and distribution. The strategy for national land policy provides a sound institutional framework for clarifying and documenting rights to land, managing land resources for sustainable economic and social benefit, and making provision for equitable distribution. The policy requires broad agreement to make it a consensual undertaking which has the support of people in all walks of life, whether they are farmers, fishermen, loggers, builders, soldiers, government officials, lawyers, bankers, tourism operators, industrialists, or workers. It needs the support of minorities and the poor or least visible members of society. With consensus policy can be implemented in a way that will encourage confidence and security, and foster trust and transparency. 7. Swaziland The history of land tenure and administration begins with the arrival of the Swazis in what now constitutes the Swazi State in the eighteenth century. The early nineteenth century saw the possession of the whole of the current area. During the middle and latter part of the 19th century, much of the land came into possession of settlers in the form of concessions. In the early 20th century, many of those concessions were converted into freehold. The remainder of the 20th century has been largely spent in recovering land into the ownership of the Ngwenyama in trust for the Swazi Nation. By the time of independence in 1968, over half of Swaziland had reverted to traditional administration. Now almost three quarters of the land area is held by this form of tenure. Today, only about 2 percent of the country is held by individuals under concession tenure, most of whom are Swazis. 8. Zambia The rationale for the new land policy include: • The need for a land policy to govern land tenure administration, land use

management and remove historical imbalances, address continuous issues and attend to new challenges of nationhood.

• Some indigenous forms of customary tenure are no longer suitable for the increasing needs posed by population growth. In its current form customary tenure does not offer sufficient protection for disability care, gender equality,

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and resource conservation as provided for in the Constitution of Zambia. • The present system of land delivery, designed for the needs of a small

colonial settler population, is not responsive to the needs of the majority of citizens and is therefore unsuitable for meeting present land use demands.

• Land administration and management systems have not changed to accept the significance of markets in society leading to development of parallel land market characterized by land racketeering activities and the growth of uncontrolled informal settlements.

In order to cope with the current demand for land and provide secure tenure in both customary and state land tenure there is need to put in place an efficient, effective, transparent, and equitable land administration system which will streamline the delivery of land. 9. Namibia Access to, and tenure of land was among the most important concerns of the Namibian people in their struggle for independence. Since 1990, the government has maintained and developed its commitment to addressing the injustices of the past in a spirit of national reconciliation and to promoting sustainable economic development. The wise and fair allocation, administration and use of the nation’s urban and rural land resources are essential if these goals are to be met. In the rapidly expanding urban areas, many poor people have no official rights to land. Inability to survey and register land rights to ease access to credit for investment development, a serious lack of urban and regional planning capacity, poorly serviced environment, etc. caused a lot of frustrations in urban areas. In the rural areas, there were concerns about the lack of clear policy and administrative structures for land allocation and management. Under these conditions many people saw the communal areas and communal land tenure as receiving second class treatment and offering second class land rights to the Namibians who lived there. As climate of the arid Namibia is highly variable, the productive potential of the land is not uniform. That is why flexible and regionally appropriate utilization of natural resources is essential.

1.1 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES IN RELATION TO LAND USES AND POPULATION PATTERN Summary The information in this section is not easy to summarize as the data is country specific and inadequate in the details given. For instance, total national population may not reflect adequate information about the pressure the population has on land and land related resources. Density of population, however, would. Information about soil types and climate would also be relevant in setting a working background for policy formulation. 1. Kenya The republic of Kenya has an area of approx. 582,646 sq. km, comprising of 97.8% land and 2.2% water surface. 20% of the land is potentially arable and rest is arid or semi-arid. Forests, woodlands, and national reserves and game parks account for 10% of the land area.

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The 1999 census puts the population of Kenya at 30.4 million with an annual growth rate of 2.9%. 60% of the population is below the age of 18 years and over 51 being female. 75% of the population lives in the agricultural area. The rural-urban population is at 78% and 22% respectively, urban population growth rate being 6%. 2. Tanzania Tanzania has an area of about 942,600 square kilometers and an estimated population of about 28 million people in 1994. The land surface is 888,200 square kilometers. About 75% of the land area is either uninhabited or difficult to manage because of difficult relief, tsetse flies or unreliable rainfall, national parks, game and forest reserves which are scattered throughout the country, mountains, inland water areas and rivers. About 46% of the total land is forest and woodland, while 40% is permanent pasture. 3. Uganda According to the 2002 census, the population of Uganda is approximately 24.4 million and is growing at the rate of 3.3 per annum. 56% of the population is below 18 years. 88% of the population lives in rural areas while 12% lives in urban centres. 4. Rwanda Rwanda has an area of 26,338 sq. km. with a population of 8,128,553 (Nov. 2003) whose natural growth rate is 3.1%. Rwanda is a very hilly country with steep slopes ravaged by massive and devastating soil erosion which is exacerbated by over stripping of land, deforestation, and inadequate use of land improvement techniques. Rwanda’s economy is mainly on Agriculture which occupies 91.1% of the active population and produces 43.5% of GDP and 80% of the country’s exports. Agricultural land is estimated at about 52% of the country’ 5. Malawi Malawi has an area of 118,324 square kilometers of land and water, of which 94,000 is land and 53,070 is suitable for cultivation. Agriculture accounts for over 40% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country’s population in 1998 was approximately 9.8 million people and an average growth rate of 1.9% per annum. 6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland Zambia Zambia has a total land surface coverage of 752,614 square kilometers. 9. Namibia NIL

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2.0 THE PROBLEM STATEMENT Summary General problems Prior to the current policies, none of the countries examined had any form of land policy that gave comprehensive guidance in land tenure, administration, management and use of resources; promoted land market while protecting land grabbing; resolved land disputes; or protected the environment effectively. Rapid growth of population that exerted pressure on land resources as well as large migrant population into urban centres and the attending growth of many urban informal settlements; lack of land tenure security; economic use of land; and advancement of agriculture appear to have been other common problems shared by all countries. These were therefore the apparent general problems which catalyzed the making of these national land policies. Specific problems In addition to the foregoing problems, the following are country specific problems: The situation in Kenya was exacerbated by the existence of many land laws, some of which were incompatible, resulting to complex land administration system. Likewise, in Tanzania, conflicting statutory measures caused problems in land tenure and use. Malawi was additionally experiencing weak planning mechanism; limited capacity for dynamic monitoring of land administration; 2.6 million hectares of land remaining uncultivated in the rural areas; rampant squatting in gazetted forests, national parks, private land, and other protected areas; uncontrolled allocation of lakeshore land. Rwanda faced unique set of problems that included a growing number of landless persons arising from returning refugees of 1959, millions of people displaced during the genocide period, orphans and widows; over fragmentation of land held under customary tenure system; conflicts between agriculture, livestock and natural reserves; scattered farms that are difficult to manage. The process to formulate the land policy in Swaziland began in 1993 as a reaction to severe economic, social and environmental pressures on land. Based on these, the pressure on land resources include absolute poverty affecting 50% of the population; protection of land property rights of people bereaved by the AIDS pandemic; and making efficient and equitable of compensation policy and procedures for resettlement of population affected by development projects. In Zambia, the reintroduction of political pluralism in 1991 was followed by dismantling of the state controlled economy through market liberalization and privatization policies. These measures considerably changed the demands for land administration. Land administration in pre- and post independence era primarily served to preserve law and order, provide basic land services and to collect fiscal revenue through provision of public services. The government ably fulfilled this obligation and sustained an effective land administration system. With time, societal demands for land services gradually accelerated to levels that were not matched by administrative efficiency among institutions

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responsible for administering land. The administrative machinery became static and failed to adapt sufficiently to the changing circumstances. Although in a different continent and far away from the other countries considered, Cambodia shared the same common areas highlighted above and in addition had specific ones that included:

• Land administration: Most private land owners do not have titles and sporadic title issuance is slow; land registration system that was not well developed thus impeding investment in land, holding back land market and encouraging land grabbing; there were no cadastral index maps, thus making it hard to link documents to specific parcels of land and so leading to recurring of duplicate claims and overlapping rights and land disputes; relevant laws and procedures were not sufficient, particularly necessary to guide development of strong land markets economy in-so-far as property rights, transfers, use of State and private land, and the regulatory powers of the State over land use were concerned; inadequate human resources, budget and equipment for land administration; weak collection of land tax, etc.

• Land management: Land use planning and natural resource management are not integrated nor decentralized; proliferation of land mines in many areas hinders land use planning; lack of experience and expertise in land management and land law causes making of land management decisions that are often not technically or legally sound.

• Land distribution: Population growth, demobilized soldiers, return of refugees, family breakdown, etc. have caused many poor people not to have land and those who have; it is too little to earn a living; increasing land grabbing and accumulation of land for speculative purposes thus inhibiting productive use of land.

1. Kenya Kenya does not have a single, clearly defined or codified National Land Policy. This problem has been exacerbated by the existence of many land laws, some of which are incompatible, resulting to a very complex land administration system. 2. Tanzania Colonial history, conflicting statutory measures, broad socio-economic patterns and demographic trends, etc. contributed to problems regarding land tenure and land use. These involved many more problems which included economic use of land, rural and urban development, housing, squatting, the quality and security of title, advancement of agriculture and the protection of the environment. It was noted that the problems could not be solved merely by piecemeal legislation or by policy directives. It was therefore concluded that the policy guidelines together with the legislation proposed in support would give substance to the government’s development objectives. 3. Uganda Land in Uganda is held under multiple tenure regimes that have burdened the country with a complex web of interlocking and overlapping rights and relations drawing legitimacy from indigenous and statute laws. Agricultural land is underutilized. Land deterioration accounts for over 80% of the annual costs of environmental damage. Influx of large numbers of unemployed young people

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adds to deterioration of land in urban areas. Urban informal settlement sector in most towns is beyond the reach of services such as proper shelter, clean water, sanitation, recreational and physical infrastructure. Despite existence of legislation on land reserved for conservation purposes, demands exerted by population growth and settlement expansion have placed at risk wildlife resources, catchment areas, forests and wetlands. To address all these, a comprehensive land policy has to be developed. 4. Rwanda Since the beginning of 1990’s the country found itself in a land related deadlock. The problems that hindered the efficient management of land thus necessitating the establishment of a NLP included: • Insufficient agricultural production. • Strong pressure on the limited land resources by a rapidly growing

population. • A land tenure system dominated by customary law which favours land

fragmentation. • A growing number of landless persons who have to be resettled. These

were mainly the returnees of the 1959 refugees. The 1994 genocide decimated over 1 million lives (handling land problems of orphans and widows) and displaced millions of people.

• Scattered farming plots that are difficult to manage. • Lack of a reliable land registration system that would guarantee land tenure

security. • Conflict between agriculture, livestock and natural reserves.

5. Malawi The 1965 Land Act currently in use no longer reflects the practical realities of Malawi’s land management problems and opportunities. Consequently, the land policy environment has been characterized by weak planning coordination, absence of proactive policy interventions and limited capacity for dynamic monitoring at all levels of land administration. The imposition of English law in general and English property concepts, constrained the evolution and growth of customary land law. The simultaneous operation of customary land tenure and private ownership regimes create institutional obstacles with cross cutting effects. The government of Malawi has operated without a comprehensive land policy since independence. Other problems include: • White farmers held the most fertile and well-watered lands. • On the basis of the estimates made in 1994, 2.6 million hectares of suitable

agricultural land remains uncultivated in the rural areas. This means 28% of the country’s total land area is lying idle. Similarly, speculative holding of urban plots and lack of infrastructure causes artificial shortages of urban development land.

• Squatting in gazetted forests, national parks, on private land and other protected areas in land pressure districts has become frequent and sometimes violent.

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• Land pressure has increased land tenure insecurity and uncertainty. • As the economy becomes more commercialized and lees dependent on

subsistence agriculture, access rights defined by customary rules are also becoming more private and restrictive than before. In the absence of clear and transparent policy, it is difficult for most citizens to understand the evolving rules of access and security of existing customary land rights.

• There is evidence of under utilization of land, obstruction of watercourses, illegal development, and unplanned or unregulated buildings in urban settlements indicate failure of development controls.

• Evidence of encroachments by nationals from neighbouring countries indicates that international boundaries and territoriality is ignored.

• Uncontrolled allocation of lakeshore land. 6. Cambodia Contemporary Cambodian society is confronted with a number of problematic issues regarding land. These include land policy, administration, management and distribution. • Land Policy: Uncoordinated land policy framework. A land policy framework

will help a more efficient use of resources for resolving land issues. • Land administration: Most private landowners do not have titles and

sporadic title issuance is slow. a) Lack of titles threatens the poor with land grabbing, impedes

investment and holds back development of a land market. b) The land registration system is not well developed and transparent.

There are overlapping claims, false claims and land disputes. Much land is not registered and registering a parcel of land may require exorbitant extra-legal payments to officials.

c) There are no cadastral index maps. The absence of cadastral index maps makes it hard to link documents to specific parcels of land, which makes it more difficult to avoid duplicate claims, overlapping rights and land disputes.

d) Relevant laws and procedures are not sufficient: The development of a strong market economy and decentralized public administration requires a clear legal framework on property rights, transfers, use of State and private land and the regulatory powers of the State over land use.

e) The dissemination of information and education on land matters is limited and knowledge of land rights amongst Cambodian people is very poor: Unless the population understands their legal rights and responsibilities, policy goals cannot be accomplished and laws will not be meaningful.

f) Human resources, budget and equipment for land administration are inadequate: Insufficient training and resources prevent routine operation of land administration functions.

g) Administrative boundaries are not clear: The lack of clarity makes public administration more difficult and makes land management difficult as exact areas of jurisdiction are undefined.

h) Delineation and demarcation of State land is not clear: It is unclear on the ground what areas are “State land” and which is “private State” and “public State” property.

i) The land valuation system is not in place: Land valuation is needed for public purposes of property acquisition, sale, lease, and taxation. It is

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also needed for private purposes of purchase/sale and mortgage. j) Disputes are frequent and often remain unresolved: Approximately two

thirds of the Supreme Court caseload involved in disputes over immovable property.

k) Land taxation system is weak: The unused land tax is under collected. The transfer tax on land is frequently evaded and value of transfers underreported.

• Land management: a) Land use planning and natural resource management are not

integrated, and are not decentralized: Encroachment onto protected areas, construction in inappropriate sites, illegal logging, confusion about jurisdiction, land grabbing, and cancellation of rights to subsistence uses of natural resources result from a lack of integrated land use planning and natural resource management.

b) State land is not clearly identified and is not properly managed which leads to accelerated land grabbing and destruction of forests.

c) Land use planning is hindered because many areas still suffer from land mines.

d) There is a lack of experience and expertise in land management and land law and a lack of technical assistance. Land management decisions are often not technically or legally sound.

• Land distribution: Acquisition of land through occupation is no longer feasible or legal. Land acquisition must occur through market channels or through transfer of land from the state.

a) Many poor people have no land or have too little land to earn a living (due to population growth, demobilized soldiers, return of refugees, family break down, etc.).

b) Some people cannot afford to buy or rent land. Land prices have increased rapidly in recent years.

c) Productive land is not always in the hands of most productive. d) Accumulation of land for speculative purposes is preventing land from

being productively used. e) Land grabbing. Numerous cases of land being claimed by powerful

individuals, apparently without legitimate rights, have been reported. 7. Swaziland Today, the economic, social and environmental pressures on Swaziland’s land are severe. It was for this reason that His Majesty instructed his government to formulate a land tenure policy in 1993. The pressures on land resources include: • The AIDS pandemic threatens Swaziland with serious social disruptions.

Adequate support should be put in place to ensure that the land property rights of the bereaved are protected.

• The population has grown at a rate of about 2.6 percent per annum this century, and 2.7 percent from 1986-1997. This has resulted in a population of more than ten times that in 1904. As natural resources have been depleted since that time, the natural wealth remaining is therefore much less plentiful for each of us than it was for our ancestors.

• Around half of all Swazis live in absolute poverty. Poverty is seen as lack of capacity to gain access to clearly defined, enforceable and transferable property rights. Enabling access to such rights in the land context is

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therefore one means of addressing poverty. • Despite Swaziland’s generally high rainfall levels, there are often severe

water shortages which are a constraint to the development of land to its highest and best use.

• Supplies of arable land are dwindling fast (through inappropriate utilization). • Increasingly, there are squatter encroachments onto freehold land, and

threats to the freeholders who produce most of Swaziland’s cash crops. Any loss of security of tenure on freehold could prove devastating on to the economy.

• The population of urban areas of Mbabane and Manzini and the peri-urban areas around Manzini are expanding at a much faster rate than the general population.

• Development projects and population pressure often require resettlements of elements of the population for the general benefit. Resettlement and compensation policies and procedures must be both efficient and equitable.

8. Zambia The reintroduction of political pluralism in 1991 was followed by dismantling of the state controlled economy through market liberalization and privatization policies. These measures considerably changed the demands for land administration. Land administration in pre- and post independence era primarily served to preserve law and order, provide basic land services and to collect fiscal revenue through provision of public services. The government ably fulfilled this obligation and sustained an effective land administration system. With time, societal demands for land services gradually accelerated to levels that were not matched by administrative efficiency among institutions responsible for administering land. The administrative machinery became static and failed to adapt sufficiently to the changing circumstances. 9. Namibia In the rapidly expanding urban areas, many poor people had no official rights to land. Inability to survey and register land rights to ease access to credit for investment development, a serious lack of urban and regional planning capacity, poorly serviced environment, etc. caused a lot of frustrations in urban areas. In the rural areas, there were concerns about the lack of clear policy and administrative structures for land allocation and management. Government’s commitment to address the injustices of the past.

2.1 VISION OF POLICY Summary With the exception of Kenya and Tanzania, most countries have not explicitly stated the visions of the policies. Hence for those that did not clearly state the visions, the same have been interpreted from the text. Countries differ in terms of vision. Four countries, (Kenya, Cambodia, Uganda, and Swaziland), focus more on land management aspects than on land administration. The rest have observed a balance between land administration and land management. The policies that focus on land administration and land management include the following aspects: The need to have a land policy that will govern land

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tenure, land use management and administration (Tanzania); to develop a land policy that will resolve many challenges that have emerged over the years, including: ownership, control and management of land resources, lack of institutional support and service infrastructure for the development of land under customary tenure, escalating land and other resource conflicts especially in the north and eastern parts of the country. (Uganda); to have a coherent policy that directs and harmonizes land management and administration and reduces land related conflicts (Rwanda); to have an efficient and effective land administration system that promotes security of tenure, equitable access and control of land use for sustainable socio-economic development (Zambia). 1. Kenya NLP that will guide the country towards efficient, sustainable and equitable use of land for prosperity and posterity. 2. In Tanzania The need to have a comprehensive land policy that would govern land tenure, land use management and administration. 3. In Uganda To develop a land policy that will resolve many challenges that have emerged over the years. These relate to land both as property and as a resource that is fundamental to economic development in Uganda’. The challenges include: • Complexity and ambiguity in the constitutional and legal framework relating

to ownership, control and management of land resources. • Poor and wasteful administration of land delivery services. • Chronic underutilization of agricultural land. • Severe deterioration of land quality in many parts of the country. • Lack of capacity for proper stewardship of land resources at the national,

local authority, and community levels. • Uncontrolled and improperly planned urban sprawl. • Lack of institutional support and service infrastructure for the development

of land under customary tenure. • Increasing pressure on land resources due high population growth rates. • Escalating land and other resource conflicts, especially in the north and

eastern parts of the country, and • Lack of management coordination between land and other productive

sectors. 4. Rwanda To have in place a coherent policy that directs and harmonizes the land management and land administration and reduces land related conflict by resolving them as soon as they surface. 5. Malawi To have a policy that will provide a sound institutional framework for democratizing the management of land and introduce the much needed procedures for protecting land tenure rights, land based investments and management of development at all levels. 6. Cambodia

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The vision of the land policy is that land will be administered, managed and distributed in ways which contribute to achieving broad national goals of poverty alleviation, equitable economic development and good governance in a democratic market oriented society. To achieve this vision attention will focus on the following: • Legal and institutional reforms – This will be implementation of the Land

Law and related legislation for the administration and management of land. The Land Law clarifies the types of land ownership, gives guidelines on how state land is to be managed, institutionalizes a modified and accountable land administration system that makes provincial governments the principal agents for land administration, etc.

• Land market strengthening – The government intends to encourage an open market in land.

• Physical planning reform – This will involve management of land by promoting beneficial use and preventing undesired use. Hence physical planning provides a framework to achieve social and economic objectives of land and resource use through the preparation of land use plans and rules. However, planning cannot succeed without information.

• Deconcentration/Decentralization – Land management and administration tasks will be deconcentrated and decentralized to provincial/municipal, district and local levels of government whenever appropriate. Deconcentrated and decentralized authorities are physically and institutionally closer to the land and landholders in their jurisdictions and may therefore be more responsive and more accountable for land administration, management and allocation process.

• Land information strengthening – Information is needed when changes in land ownership and/or use are planned or proposed. The basic spatial unit upon which land records can be compiled is the land parcel. Several categories of land information systems can be developed around a land parcel, viz;

a) Spatial information b) Environmental information. c) Cadastral information or information about specific legal rights and

duties vested in land. 7. Swaziland To maximize benefits to the entire society from land on a sustainable basis. 8. Zambia The vision of the Government is to have an efficient and effective land administration system that promotes security of tenure, equitable access and control of land use for sustainable socio-economic development of the people of Zambia. 9. Namibia National commitment to redress the social and injustices inherited from the colonial past as reflected in the Constitution.

2.2 MISSION OF POLICY Summary As it is the case in the policy vision, it’s only Kenya and Tanzania that have

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made the policy mission explicit. The bias for land management and balanced approach are also replicated in the mission statements. As for Uganda, the mission is difficult to glean from the document. Kenya states its mission thus: to promote land reforms through establishment of accountable and transparent institutions dealing with land. Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia mission statements focus on: Promoting and ensuring a secure land tenure system that encourages optimal use of land resources and facilitates broad based social and economic development that sustains ecological balance of the environment (Tanzania); Guaranteeing a safe and stable form of land tenure and bringing about a rational and planned use of land while ensuring a sound land management and efficient land administration (Rwanda); Ensuring tenure security and equitable access to land to facilitate attainment of social harmony and broad based socio-economic development through optimum and ecologically balanced use of land and land resources (Malawi); Putting in place an efficient, effective transparent, and equitable land administration system which will streamline the delivery of land (Zambia). Cambodia and Swaziland’s mission statements respectively focus on: Consolidation of institutional arrangements regarding land; and Providing for a broad policy framework of directives to which subsidiary policies will conform. 1. Kenya To promote positive land reforms through establishment of accountable and transparent institutions dealing with land. 2. Tanzania To promote and ensure a secure land tenure system that encourages the optimal use of land resources and facilitates broad-based social and economic development that sustains ecological balance of the environment. 3. Uganda (not clearly stated) 4. Rwanda To establish a national land policy that will guarantee a safe and stable form of land tenure and bring about a rational and planned use of land while ensuring a sound land management and efficient land administration. 5. Malawi To ensure tenure security and equitable access to land, to facilitate the attainment of social harmony and broad based social and economic development through optimum and ecologically balanced use of land and land based resources. 6. Cambodia To develop a short-term guide to drafting legislation, designing programmes of action, carrying out policy-oriented research and pilot programmes and consolidating institutional arrangements regarding land. 7. Swaziland

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To develop a National Land Policy that is to provide the broad policy framework of directives to which all subsidiary policies are to conform. 8. Zambia To put in place an efficient, effective, transparent, and equitable land administration system which will streamline the delivery of land. 9. Namibia National commitment to redress the social and injustices inherited from the colonial past as reflected in the Constitution.

2.3 OBJECTIVES OF POLICY Summary The policy objectives for the countries differ in so far as they relate to different problems. They however overlap in areas relating to: promoting land tenure security, equitable access to land by all citizens without gender bias or discrimination, promoting investment on land and ensuring that land is put to most productive and sustainable use; improving land allocation and land market; ensuring accountability and transparency in the administration of land; land dispute adjudication and conflict resolution; protection of customary rights and the reduction of poverty. The individual countries have the following country specific objectives: to set ceiling on land ownership in order to prevent/avoid land concentration/grabbing by a few, to streamline the institutional arrangements in land administration and also make them more transparent, to promote sound land information management, and to protect land resources from degradation for sustainable development (Tanzania); to promote governance and social justice, political accountability and democratic governance, to design and execute a paradigm shift from emphasis on land ownership to land development (Uganda); to undertake comprehensive reforms of the existing land tenure systems and give guidance to the necessary land reforms with a view to good management and rational use of national land resources, to avoid the splitting of plots and promote their consolidation in order to bring about economically viable production, to protect land resources from various effects of land degradation, to promote conservation and sustainable use of wetlands (Rwanda); to curb land encroachment, unapproved development, land speculation and racketeering, to set guidelines for establishing economically viable ceilings on land ownership so as to prevent extreme land concentration in a few hands or individuals and/or organizations and extreme fragmentation, to extend land use planning and strategies to all urban and rural areas, to provide formal and orderly arrangements for granting titles and delivering land services in modern and decentralized registration system that support local governments, to promote community participation and public awareness at all levels in order to ensure environmentally sustainable land use practices and good land stewardship, and to promote research and continuous education of the public on all aspects of the duties and obligations of land tenure (Malawi); to encourage rational and sustainable use of land, to encourage land ownership by Swazi citizens (Swaziland); to secure Zambia’s territorial integrity by maintaining international boundaries at all times so as to control movements, encroachments and enhancing security of citizens, to establish and support institutional capacity at all levels for sustained

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improvements of land delivery services, to promote research and discourse in all aspects of national geography, land economy, law and information studies, and to provide a comprehensive institutional and legal management framework for effective land administration and management (Zambia). 1. Kenya NLP to secure rights over land and provide for sustainable growth, investment and the reduction of poverty in line with government’s development objectives. 2. Tanzania The NLP objectives are:

• Promote equitable distribution and access to land by all citizens. • Ensure customary rights are recognized, clarified and secured in law. • Set ceiling on land ownership to prevent/avoid land concentration

(grabbing) by a few. • Ensure that land is put to its most productive use. • Modify and streamline the existing land management systems and improve

the efficiency of land delivery systems. • Streamline the institutional arrangements in land administration and land

dispute adjudication and also make them more transparent. • Promote sound land information management. • Protect land resources from degradation for sustainable development.

3. Uganda Given that for a long time to come land in Uganda is likely to remain the most essential pillar of national development, the land sector is expected to play a crucial role in the development of other sectors and, especially, in providing leverage in efforts at poverty reduction, the promotion of governance and social justice, political accountability and democratic governance, the management of conflict and ecological stress and the modernization of the economy as a whole. In order to ensure increased contribution of land to economic productivity, and commercial competitiveness, there is a need to design and execute a paradigm shift from emphasis on land ownership to land development. 4. Rwanda To undertake comprehensive reforms of the existing land tenure systems and to establish a land tenure system that guarantees tenure security for all Rwandans and give guidance to the necessary land reforms with a view to good management and rational use of national land resources. Specifically the following will be established: • Put in place mechanisms which guarantee land tenure security to land users

for the promotion of investment in land. • Promote good allocation of land in order to enhance rational use of land

resources. • Avoid the splitting of plots and promote their consolidation in order to bring

about economically viable production. • Develop actions that protect land resources from various effects of land

degradation. • Establish institutional land administration arrangements that enable land to

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have value in the market economy. • Promote conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.

5. Malawi The objectives include the need to: • Guarantee secure tenure and equitable access to land without any gender

bias and/or discrimination to all citizens. • Instill order and discipline into land allocation and land market transactions.

To curb land encroachment, unapproved development, land speculation and racketeering.

• Ensure accountability and transparency in the administration of land matters and ensure existing rights, especially customary rights of the smallholders, are recognized, clarified, and ultimately protected in law.

• Set guidelines for establishing economically viable ceilings on land ownership to prevent extreme land concentration in a few hands, or individuals and/or organizations and extreme fragmentation.

• Extend land use planning and strategies to all urban and rural areas. • Facilitate efficient use of land under market conditions to ensure optimum

benefits from land development. • Provide formal and orderly arrangements for granting titles and delivering

land services in modern and decentralized registration system that support local governments throughout Malawi.

• Promote community participation and public awareness at all levels to ensure environmentally sustainable land use practices and good land stewardship.

• Promote research and continuous education of the public on all aspects of the duties and obligations of land tenure, land stewardship and operations of the land market.

6. Cambodia The objectives are: • To strengthen land tenure security and land market, and to prevent or

resolve disputes. • To manage land and natural resources in an equitable, sustainable and

efficient manner. • To promote land distribution with equity.

7. Swaziland The objectives of the National Land Policy are: • To improve access to land and secure tenure. • To encourage rational and sustainable use of land. • To improve productivity, income and living conditions and alleviate poverty • To reduce land related conflicts. • To develop an efficient and effective system of land administration. • To encourage land ownership by Swazi citizens.

8. Zambia The objectives of the policy are: • Secure Zambia’s territorial integrity by maintaining international boundaries

at all times to control movements, encroachments and enhancing security of citizens.

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• Facilitate the equalization of rights of all the people of Zambia to land through accountable and transparent land registration, adjudication and achievement of guaranteed justice.

• Facilitate and regulate orderly land market transactions, land development and use.

• Establish and support institutional capacity and capability at national, provisional, district, local and community levels for sustained improvements of land delivery services.

• Promote research and discourse in all aspects of national geography, land economy, law and information studies.

• Provide a comprehensive institutional and legal management framework for effective land administration and management.

9. Namibia National commitment to redress the social and injustices inherited from the colonial past as reflected in the Constitution.

2.4 POLICY FORMULATION PROCESS Summary The majority of policies studied show that policy formulation processes included: comprehensive review of literature, followed consultative processes that were participatory, interactive and stakeholder consensus based (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Cambodia). The policies of Kenya and Tanzania had additional input of information from Presidential Commissions of Inquiry on Land Matters. The processes followed in Rwanda, Swaziland and Zambia are not stated. 1. Kenya NLP formulation designed to be consultative, participatory, interactive, inclusive, consensus-based, timely and professional, transparent, gender sensitive, innovative and cost-effective. 2. In Tanzania The NLP is the result of extensive consultation and deliberation. It incorporates the position of the government on the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Land Matters reached by the Cabinet on December 22, 1994, the recommendations and observations of the National Workshop on Land Policy held in Arusha on January 16-18, 1995 and comments and suggestions from the public and mass media. (The document was endorsed by Parliament). 3. Uganda The development of the NLP involved comprehensive review of available literature and followed a participatory consultative process whose objective was to obtain stakeholder consensus on the final product. 4. Rwanda 5. Malawi In developing the NLP, the Ministry of Lands and Housing pursued a consultative approach that involved a number of measures including: • The Ministry of Lands and Housing appointed a Policy Planning Unit (PPU)

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and Task Force to review existing policies and laws and to steer a comprehensive approach to land policy reform. A 22 member multi-disciplinary and inter-ministerial task force that included representation from government, stakeholders from private industry, non-governmental organizations and civil society groups supported the PPU. Experienced National Consultants and one International Consultant supported the PPU in its work. This ensured local ownership of the process.

• Land utilization studies and special reports were conducted to provide empirical and analytical basis for any proposed policy reforms. Some of the studies focused on:

a) Land use study using aerial photo interpretation to assess the extent of cultivation within customary areas.

b) A tracer study on sample survey of agriculture to collect additional information in order to estimate the intensity and efficiency of customary land uses.

c) A socio-economic study of land tenure to understand the procedures and processes of customary land allocation and alienation.

d) Estate, public and customary land utilization and interaction studies to assess land use effectiveness.

e) Special land tenure case studies to evaluate stability of land tenure. • Review of literature

a) The Presidential Commission on Land policy Reform. b) The secretariat at the ministry synthesized all the background

research, public findings and results and input from special studies. • Stakeholder consultations: A series of stakeholder consultative meetings,

discussions and symposia were conducted throughout the drafting process: a) Small focus-group gatherings. b) Regional consultative workshops. c) Expert opinions and revisions d) National consultative workshop. e) Further public and stakeholder consultations (a grace period of 7

months was set for receipt of public comments/opinions) f) Political clearance process: (i) review by cabinet committee, (ii)a series

of presentations and discussions with heads of land sector Ministries and Policy Makers, and (iii) Cabinet approval of the policy was granted on 17th January 2002.

6. Cambodia The guiding institutional arrangements in the development of the land policy framework are: • Broadly based consultation across governmental agencies, the private

sector and civil society groups. • Guidance and synthesis from the Council for Land Policy, drawing on the

concrete experiences of its members. • Cooperation with international partners who are providing financial and

technical resources for the implementation of many areas of the existing and proposed programmes of action.

The process of land policy formulation has been undertaken by the Royal Government of Cambodia through: • A consultative policy development process initiated by the Ministry of Land

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Management, Urban Planning and Construction and carried forward by the Council for Land Policy. In July 2000 a national workshop on national land policy formulation was held. In December 2000 an inter-ministerial council, namely Council for Land Policy, was created by the Royal Government of Cambodia. Several workshops were held.

• A legislative program pursued by the Royal Government and the National Assembly. The new land law is the centerpiece. A draft Forest Law, draft Fisheries Law and a draft Water Law are also at advanced stages of preparation.

• Implementation of pilot projects in land administration and land management. The pilot projects have created successful methodologies for systematic registration based on cadastral index maps and land titles, using modern technologies and a participatory procedure and thus providing a basis for national implementation of the Land Law’s provisions on land registration. They have proposed new guidelines for sporadic registration and have created models for community-based land management. The pilot projects have sponsored a series of national workshops on land policy issues, land management policy, GIS, and participatory land use planning.

7. Swaziland 8. Zambia 9. Namibia Not explained.

2.5 REVIEW OF POLICY Summary Three countries, appreciating state of dynamism and continual change, indicated that the NLP were due for review after 5 or ten years; Kenya and Rwanda stated a period of ten years while Uganda proposed five years. All the other countries, namely Malawi, Cambodia, Swaziland and Zambia remained quiet on this issue. 1. Kenya Review the policy every after a period of ten years. 2. Tanzania (Not stated) 3. Uganda Review policy at least every five years. 4. Rwanda Provide for interim review after 10 years. 5. Malawi 6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland 8. Zambia

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9. Namibia

3.0 LAND ADMINISTRATION Summary Five countries, namely Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi and Cambodia, each put forward a definition or a description that shows how Land Administration is perceived. Tanzania, Swaziland and Zambia did not offer a description giving the meaning of the key subject matter, land administration, that was addressed in the policy document. Definition/Description of Land Administration Kenya defines land administration as the process of determining, recording and disseminating information about ownership, value and use of land. An efficient land administration system guarantees land titles and tenure security, guides land transactions and supports the process of land taxation. The principal components of land administration are: • Ascertainment and registration of land rights. • Allocation and management of public land. • Facilitation of efficient transactions in land. • Maintenance of efficient and accurate land information system. • Mechanism for assessment of land resources for fiscal development and

revenue collection, and • Efficient and accessible mechanism for resolving land disputes.

Uganda describes land administration as: Land rights administration comprises the structures and processes through which rights in land are created, refined, and recorded or certified; the integrity of land transactions are assured and guaranteed, land rights disputes are processed, land revenue is generated, and land information is inventoried, provided or otherwise archived. Rwanda defines land administration as: The process of registration and dissemination of information in relation to land titles and all sorts of land transactions, as well as the use of land-linked natural resources. This process includes the establishment of rights and other attributes characterizing land ownership and the mode of acquisition, measuring and demarcation of plots, as well as their description. According to Malawi: Land administration embraces such matters as the delivery of land rights, the planning of land uses, demarcation and survey of land parcels, the registration and maintenance of land information. It also includes conveyance, policies to facilitate decisions on mortgages and investment, development management, property valuation for assessment purposes and monitoring the environmental impact of all land based activities. Cambodia describes land administration in terms of its objectives: The objective of land administration policy is to clarify and record ownership and other rights to and the location of all properties (public and private) in order to strengthen land tenure security, improve the efficiency and reliability of land markets, and protect social harmony by preventing or resolving disputes. Improved land administration will make immovable property tenure less

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susceptible to corruption or abuse, and clarify administrative competencies, thereby aiding governance. Status of Land Administration The statuses of land administration in the countries studied as well as the proposed policy measures to address the situation are different and country specific from one country to another: However, there are common problems. Land administration is bureaucratic thus resulting in inordinate delays and injustice, inefficient and expensive (Kenya, Uganda); has poor record keeping which has led to multiple allocations and registration of land which in turn led to complicated land disputes (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda ); corruption practices (Kenya and Zambia); and while there is a Ministry for Lands mandated to administer land matters, some of the land administration functions are executed by departments in other ministries thus causing duplicity of roles leading to corrupt practices with no proper system to effect the efficient and equitable distribution of land (Cambodia, Malawi, Swaziland, and Zambia). Country specific issues related to land administration include: In Kenya land administration system is undemocratic and prone to abuse; has not supplied adequate serviced land at an affordable price; has not achieved equitable and fair distribution of land; and is undermined by land speculation, political interference and the abuse of power by the public agencies mandated to manage land. Kenya then proposes the following as solutions: Consolidate, harmonize and streamline all land registration statutes to ensure clarity and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, and Computerize land records and facilitate access to information. Land administration in Tanzania lacks clearly defined institutional hierarchy resulting to government agencies responsible for land matters spending a lot of time dealing with disputes instead of doing proper land management and planning work. In response the policy proposes the government to make the Commissioner for Lands the sole authority responsible for land administration and empower him to appoint officers who will have authority to administer land other than village land at the appropriate level of government. On village land the policy states that Village Councils shall administer village lands but will be required to report all decisions on land allocation to the Village Assemblies. The policy goes further to stipulate that the procedure and powers of the appointed officers will be defined by the Minister for Lands and shall include the execution of decisions made by Village Councils with respect to village land administration. Uganda proposes that the land rights administration system must be designed and operated with a view to enhancing and facilitating the management of land resources; and ensure that land rights administration structures and processes at all levels are transparent, cost-effective and accessible to the ordinary land using public. Rwanda proposes to ensure that land administration is based on a reformed cadastral system, including mapping, recording of all land related data and land titles, and encouragement of the population in land management. In the process the government will establish a National Land Management Centre equipped with a geographical information system; elaborate a standardized

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land law guaranteeing fair rights to tenants; promote people’s active participation in land management and establish a national, provincial and district land management commissions both in rural and urban areas. In Malawi, existence of a number of institutions and statutory agencies (e.g. Ministry of Agriculture and irrigation, Ministry of Water development, Ministry of Natural resources and environment affairs, Local Assemblies, etc) dealing with land resulting in confusion over jurisdiction and inadequate policy intervention. In Malawi, the NLP directs government to ensure that the powers of administration delegated by the President to the Minister responsible for land matters makes the ministry of Lands and Housing, the principal authority responsible for land administration in Malawi. In regard to formalization of traditional land administration, the NLP directs government to institute the following: record all transactions involving customary land; and develop a carefully structured program on Customary Land Administration and Customary Land Records Management for training Chiefs and Headpersons, and for certifying Traditional Land Clerks. Cambodia notes that improved land administration will: (a) make immovable property tenure less susceptible to corruption or abuse, and clarify administrative competencies, thereby aiding governance, (b) improve the basis for cost recovery and facilitate land taxation, thereby improving the revenue basis for governance. Clarity of administrative boundaries will facilitate the operations of local governance and the community based management of land and natural resources. Swaziland says that a unified, coherent, transparent and representative land administration be established, with the required technical and administrative support, at national and local levels. An institutional framework is to be created which is able to decide between competing demands and determine such conflicts. This is to include a body entrusted with the authority to rationalize land allocation for various uses at national level. Land administration be unified under one Ministry, as far as is practicable and efficient. In Zambia land administration is executed by the Ministry of Lands through its constituent departments dealing with land delivery, land administration, land survey and land registration. However, departments falling under a number of ministries such as Physical Planning and housing, Valuation, Agriculture and natural Resources and other statutory institutions also contribute to land management. This leads to duplicity of roles leading to corrupt practices with no proper system to effect the efficient and equitable distribution of land. Furthermore, the land administration system has remained static and not adapting sufficiently to changing circumstances (from pre- and post independence), thus rendering public land administrative functions less effective. The solutions proposed by the NLP The policies of Cambodia, Uganda, and Rwanda; and to some extent that of Tanzania, have been presented from more-or-less a positive perspective saying, “doing this will benefit the people in this way and that” and then states what the government will do. Kenya, on the other hand takes on a strong position of stating the problems forcefully and throwing blames to the those

26

deemed responsible for causing the problems, then proposes what ought to be done. 1. Kenya Land administration refers to the process of determining, recording and disseminating information about ownership, value and use of land. An efficient land administration system guarantees land titles and tenure security, guides land transactions and supports the process of land taxation. The principal components of land administration are: • Ascertainment and registration of land rights. • Allocation and management of public land. • Facilitation of efficient transactions in land. • Maintenance of efficient and accurate land information system. • Mechanism for assessment of land resources for fiscal development and

revenue collection, and • Efficient and accessible mechanism for resolving land disputes.

The existing land administration is bureaucratic, expensive, undemocratic and prone to abuse, resulting in inordinate delays and injustice in the administration of land. The current system of land rights delivery has not supplied adequate serviced land at an affordable price and has not achieved equitable and fair distribution of land. The unsatisfactory land rights delivery is a result of land speculation, corruption, political interference and the abuse of power by the public agencies mandated to manage land. Poor record keeping has encouraged multiple allocations and registration of plots of land. To establish efficiency in land rights delivery, the government shall: • Consolidate, harmonize and streamline all land registration statutes to

ensure clarity and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, • Computerize land records and facilitate access to information.

2. Tanzania The absence of clearly defined institutional hierarchy for land administration has resulted in multiple land allocations which in turn led to complicated land disputes. Hence government agencies responsible for land matters have been and are spending a lot of time dealing with disputes instead of doing proper land management and planning work. The policy statement: • The Commissioner for Lands shall be the sole authority responsible for land

administration. • The Commissioner will appoint officers who will have authority to administer

land other than village land at the appropriate level of government. • Village Councils shall administer village lands but will be required to report

all decisions on land allocation to the Village Assemblies. • The procedure and powers of the appointed officers will be defined by the

Minister and shall include the execution of decisions made by Village Councils with respect to village land administration.

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3. Uganda Land rights administration comprises the structures and processes through which rights in land are created, refined, and recorded or certified; the integrity of land transactions are assured and guaranteed, land rights disputes are processed, land revenue is generated, and land information is inventoried, provided or otherwise archived. The land administration is beset by a number of malfunctions, notably: high degree of obsolesce, bureaucratic complexity, managerial opacity, operational inefficiency and high transactions costs. These malfunctions have impeded the development of the land sector. Lack of proper record keeping, persistent inaccuracies in land registry information, and general mistrust of the land rights administration system have contributed to severe land rights insecurity especially in the urban areas and areas under freehold or mailo tenure. The land rights administration framework therefore needs urgent reform so that: • The land rights administration system must be designed and operated with a

view to enhancing and facilitating the management of land resources both as property vested in the public, communities and individuals, as an asset central to national development.

• Land rights administration structures and processes at all levels must be transparent, cost-effective and accessible to the ordinary land using public.

4. Rwanda Land administration is defined as the process of registration and dissemination of information in relation to land titles and all sorts of land transactions, as well as the use of land-linked natural resources. This process includes the establishment of rights and other attributes characterizing land ownership and the mode of acquisition, measuring and demarcation of plots, as well as their description. Land administration will be based on a reformed cadastral system, including mapping, recording of all land related data and land titles, and encouragement of the population in land management. The strategic options focus on: • Establishment of a National Land Management Centre equipped with a

geographical information system. • Elaboration of a standardized land law guaranteeing fair rights to tenants. • Promotion of people’s active participation in land management. • Establishment of national, provincial and district land management

commissions both in rural and urban areas. 5. Malawi Land administration embraces such matters as the delivery of land rights, the planning of land uses, demarcation and survey of land parcels, the registration and maintenance of land information. It also includes conveyance, policies to facilitate decisions on mortgages and investment, development management, property valuation for assessment purposes and monitoring the environmental impact of all land based activities. There are a number of institutions and statutory agencies (e.g. Ministry of Agriculture and irrigation, Ministry of Water development, Ministry of Natural resources and environment affairs, Local Assemblies, etc) dealing with land resulting in confusion over jurisdiction and inadequate policy intervention. To

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reduce any administrative misconceptions, only one authority appointed by the President shall be responsible for land matters. Hence: • The powers of administration delegated by the President to the Minister

responsible for land matters makes the ministry of Lands and Housing, the principal authority responsible for land administration in Malawi.

Under the government program to formalize traditional land administration, the following actions will also be instituted: • All transactions involving customary land will be required by law to be

recorded by a Land Clerk in a Traditional Land Index. • A carefully structured program on Customary Land Administration and

Customary Land Records Management shall be developed for training Chiefs and Headpersons, and for certifying Traditional Land Clerks.

6. Cambodia The objective of land administration policy is to clarify and record ownership and other rights to and the location of all properties (public and private) in order to strengthen land tenure security, improve the efficiency and reliability of land markets, and protect social harmony by preventing or resolving disputes. Improved land administration will make immovable property tenure less susceptible to corruption or abuse, and clarify administrative competencies, thereby aiding governance. Improved land administration will also improve basis for cost recovery and facilitate land taxation, thereby improving the revenue basis for governance. Clarity of administrative boundaries will facilitate the operations of local governance and the community based management of land and natural resources. 7. Swaziland It is National Policy that: • Existing legal framework of land administration be rationalized. • All remaining (2%) land concessions be phased out.

On: uncoordinated and inefficient land administration, including hostility between responsible government authorities due to clashing and overlapping roles and differing agendas. It is National Policy that: • A unified, coherent, transparent and representative land administration be

established, with the required technical and administrative support, at national and local levels. An institutional framework is to be created which is able to decide between competing demands and determine such conflicts. This is to include a body entrusted with the authority to rationalize land allocation for various uses at national level.

• Land administration be unified under one Ministry, as far as is practicable and efficient.

8. Zambia Land administration is executed by the Ministry of Lands through its constituent departments dealing with land delivery, land administration, land survey and land registration. However, departments falling under a number of ministries such as Physical Planning and housing, Valuation, Agriculture and natural Resources and other statutory institutions also contribute to land management. This leads to duplicity of roles leading to corrupt practices with no proper system to effect the efficient and equitable distribution of land.

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The land administration system has remained static and not adapting sufficiently to changing circumstances (from pre- and post independence), thus rendering public land administrative functions less effective. 9. Namibia Government will ensure that all aspects of land administration are open and transparent, all financial transactions involving land and public funds are audited on a regular basis, all proceedings of regional and local land boards shall be open to the public. Urban land Urban land administration will continue to be carried out by local authorities. Rural Land The administration of land in communal areas shall vest in Land Boards and traditional Authorities. The Land Boards shall be responsible for the survey and registration of all approved forms of land title in the area of their jurisdiction. Regional Land Boards will be responsible for: • Zoning areas for National Community Development. • Setting limits on the amount of land which can be made available for

leasehold (in aggregate and to any individual).

3.0.1 CATEGORIES OF LAND Summary The categories of land considered are the existing ones as well as those proposed in the National Land Policies (NLP). All country policies, except Swaziland and Tanzania’s policies, specify various categories of land. The proposed ones with respective countries in brackets are summarized as follows: • Public land (Kenya, Uganda, Malawi) • Government land (Malawi). • Community land (Kenya, Uganda) • Private land* (Kenya, Uganda, Malawi) • State’s Public land ( Rwanda) • State’s Private land (Rwanda) • Customary land (Malawi) • Public Domain of the State (Cambodia) • Private Domain of the State (Cambodia) • Private Domain (Cambodia) • Customary land (Zambia) • State land (Zambia, Malawi*)

*Private Land in Malawi is further subdivided into: o Freehold, and o Customary estates

The respective distinctions between each category are given under each country are: Kenya’s policy requires government to enact a legislation to govern all categories of land. The policy directs the Government to ensure that all land is

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put into productive use on a sustainable basis by facilitating the implementation of key principles on land use, productivity targets and guidelines as well as conservation. Tanzania (categories of land are not stated in the policy) The policy of Uganda says that the Constitution and the Land Law will be amended to classify land in Uganda in terms of broad ownership characteristics. Rwanda (no additional information) Malawi (no additional information) Cambodia: About 80 percent of land area in Cambodia now falls under State ownership categories, and 20 percent falls under private ownership Swaziland: (no land type mentioned in the NLP) Zambia: Customary land is 94% of all land while State land is 6%. Cambodia’s current information about the location and characteristics of State land is dispersed and incomplete. This dispersion and incompleteness is a cause of disputes and ineffective management. Hence the policy document proposes to create a State land inventory and classification in order to allow the State to identify and locate its different properties in a systematic way. 1. Kenya The principal rights of ownership are the right to: (a) use, (b) dispose of, and (c) exclude others from the land owned. The NLP requires government to enact a legislation to govern all categories of land. • Categories of existing land:

a) Government land. b) Trust land, and c) Private land.

• The NLP directs that there shall be three categories of land, namely: a) Public land: Public land comprises all land that is not private land or

community land and any other land declared to be public land by an Act of Parliament.

b) Community land: Community land refers to land lawfully held, managed and used by a specific community. Families and individuals within the community are allocated rights to use the land in perpetuity, subject to effective utilization. The ultimate ownership vests in the community.

c) Private land: Private land refers to land lawfully held, managed and used by an individual or other entity under statutory tenure. Private land is derived from the Government Land Act (Cap 280) the Registration of Titles Act (RTA) (Cap 281), the Land Titles Act (LTA) (Cap282), Registered Land Act (RLA) (Cap300) and the Indian Transfer of Property Act (ITPA)

The policy directs the Government tol ensure that all land is put into productive use on a sustainable basis by facilitating the implementation of key principles on land use, productivity targets and guidelines as well as conservation. 2. Tanzania (The policy document does not classify land types save for the definition of terms which contains the term ‘public land’ meaning all land in Tanzania

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whether granted, customary or unoccupied.) 3. Uganda The Constitution and the Land Law will be amended to classify land in Uganda in terms of broad ownership characteristic indicating whether and what land is held as: • Public. • Community, or • Private.

In order to accord effective protection to public or government land, legislative and other measures will be taken to: • Define the manner and conditions under which such land may be acquires,

used or otherwise disposed of. • Adjudicate and survey, and register any such land in the name of the Land

Commission or respective District Land Board. Etc. 4. Rwanda In order to guarantee environmental conservation, state owned lands should be governed by special measures and regulation. In this regard, the following shall be classified as the State’s Public Land:

a) Lakes and waterways, National roads and their feeder roads, land with public buildings, Natural reserves and national parks, marshlands classified as natural reserves.

The following shall be classified as the State’s Private Land: b) Economically viable marshlands, Communal land, Vacant land

(comprising abandoned land, land recovered from religious concessions and from large traditional land owners), Land used by state institutions (schools, hospitals, research institutions, military entities).

5. Malawi The following land types are defined by the Land Ordinance of 1951 subsist to date: • Public, • Private, and • Customary. The new NLP specifies the following categories of land: • Government land. This is land acquired and privately owned by the

government and dedicated to a specified national use, e.g. government buildings, schools, hospitals, etc.

• Public land. This is land held in trust and managed by the Government or Traditional Authorities and openly used or accessible to the public at large, e.g. National Parks, Conservation, Historical, Military sites, and dambos.

• Private land. Under Section 24 of the Registered Land Act, this category includes:

(a) Freehold, and (b) Customary estate.

6. Cambodia

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Types of ownership and land rights: Three different domains of ownership exist in Cambodia. These are based on Article 44 of the Constitution of 1993 which recognizes right to ownership. The domains are: • Public Domain of the State. • Private Domain of the State. • Private Domain.

Within the private domain, ownership can take various forms: individual ownership, communal ownership, undivided ownership, cooperative and joint ownership. Other rights to land include use and habitation rights, usufruct rights, easements, mortgages, pledges and charges, and contractual rights. About 80 percent of land area in Cambodia now falls under State ownership categories, and 20 percent falls under private ownership. State property is divided into the public domain of the State and the private domain of the State. The public domain of the State consists of inalienable (cannot be sold, but can be licensed out) categories of land which have a specific public interest, such as waterways, harbours and other transportation infrastructure including roads and airports, parks and reserved areas for biological resources, government buildings and social infrastructure, archeological and cultural sites, royal properties and forests. The private domain of the State may be subject to lease or sale. Different types of rights may be acquired in this domain including the use and usufruct rights through leases granted by the State or through concessions. Ownership rights may be acquired through sales. In cases of social concessions, ownership rights may be donated to private citizens or legal entities from the private domain of the State. All other land is intended to be in the domain of private ownership in which private owners are free to use and transfer the property, subject only to certain rules about use. State land inventory and classification Currently, information about the location and characteristics of State land is dispersed and incomplete. This dispersion and incompleteness is a cause of disputes and ineffective management. It makes protection of natural resources difficult, is difficult to monitor agricultural concessions, and also impedes the execution of public works such as the construction and improvement of roads. It is therefore the policy of government to: • Create a State land inventory and classification in order to allow the State to

identify and locate its different properties in a systematic way. 7. Swaziland 8. Zambia Categories of existing land: • Customary land (94% of all land). • State land (6% of all land).

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9. Namibia Categories of land rights will be: • Individuals. • Families which are legally constituted as family trusts in order to assure

specified individuals and their descendants of shared land rights. • Legally constituted bodies and institutions to exercise joint ownership rights. • Duly constituted cooperatives. • The State.

3.0.2 AUTHORITY RESPONSIBLE FOR LAND ADMINISTRATION

Summary The policy proposes the following as authorities responsible for land administration: 1. Kenya: National Land Commission. At district level there will be District Land Boards and Community Land boards at community level. 2. Tanzania: The Commissioner for Lands, who will appoint officers to administer land other than village land at appropriate level of government. Village land is administered by Village Councils. 3. Uganda: Uganda Land Commission and District Land Boards. The District Land Boards operate independent of The Uganda Land Commission. 4. Rwanda: National Land Commission, Provincial Land Commission, and District Land Commission. The Secretary of each commission shall be the registrar of land titles in urban districts or urban centres and rural areas under his/her authority. The National Land Commission shall be responsible for the management of public and private state land on behalf of the Government and the nation at large. NLC shall also be the registrar of title deeds for public and private state land. Provincial Land Commissions should supervise and coordinate the work of District Land Commissions and deal especially with the management and use of urban land. 5: Malawi: Ministry of Lands and Housing. 6. Cambodia: Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. 7. Swaziland: Ministry of Lands. 8. Zambia: The Commissioner of Lands administers the State lands as farms and agricultural holdings as stands for buildings and other uses, all under

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leasehold. Chiefs administer land in customary areas but the Commissioner may allocate land under customary tenure provided that it is vacant and the Chief does not object. 1. Kenya The Policy states that the National Land Commission (NLC) shall be a constitutional body which shall carry out land administration and management efficiently, equitably and sustainably. There will also be District Land Boards which will represent at district level and at community level will be Community Land Boards. 2. Tanzania

• The Commissioner for Lands shall be the sole authority responsible for land administration. The Commissioner will appoint officers to administer land other than village land at appropriate levels of government

• Village Councils shall administer village lands. 3. Uganda 4. Rwanda There shall be established national, provincial and district land management commissions both in rural and urban areas. • The National Land Commission shall be responsible for the management of

public and private state land on behalf of the Government and the nation at large.

• The National Land Commission shall be the registrar of title deed for public and private state land. Provincial Commissioners shall supervise and coordinate the work of District Land Commissions.

• The Secretary of each commission will be the registrar of land titles in urban districts or urban centres and rural areas under his/her authority.

• The powers vested in land registrars, the mechanisms of property registration, of surveys of land vacancies and of mortgage will be spelt out in order to guarantee the homogeneity of the registration of land titles throughout the country.

5. Malawi The powers of administration delegated by the President to the Minister responsible for land matters makes the Ministry of Lands and Housing, the principal authority responsible for land administration in Malawi.

6. Cambodia The policy of the Royal Government of Cambodia is that the authority for documenting and registering rights to land belongs to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC). Authority is delegated to this authority to: • Create and manage a cadastral system. • Issue all land titles. • Implement and enforce land legislation in cooperation with other Ministries.

7. Swaziland

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8. Zambia The Commissioner of Lands administers the State lands as farms and agricultural holdings as stands for buildings and other uses, all under leasehold. Chiefs administer land in customary areas but the Commissioner may allocate land under customary tenure provided that it is vacant and the Chief does not object. Land administration is executed by the Ministry of Lands through its constituent departments dealing with land delivery, land administration, land survey and land registration. However, departments falling under other ministries such as Physical Planning and Housing, Valuation, Agriculture and Natural resources and other statutory institutions also contribute to land management.

3.1 LAND TENURE Summary In the countries examined, it has been stated that prior to colonization, the land tenure existing at the time was customary tenure. As outlined in the NLPs of Zambia and Tanzania customary land tenure was used subject to local conditions and customs. Land was then held by the community rather than individuals. This facilitated periodic distribution of land among the community members based on population growth, a practice that prevented emergence of a class of landless individuals. The system of land holding under customary tenure is derived from continued occupation and is administered according to local custom and therefore varies from place to place. Traditional/Tribal leaders (Chiefs and Headmen) have a significant regulatory role of customary tenure. Colonization added two forms of tenure system on the colonized lands. It added freehold and leasehold systems. Thus in each country there were the three types of tenure systems up to the independence time. After attainment of independence many countries sought to convert freehold titles to leasehold titles. This was so because freehold titles being titles in perpetuity which confer to title holders unlimited rights of use, abuse and disposition (Tanzania and Zambia) were not popular with the independence governments. The new NLPs of Kenya and Uganda propose to promote leasehold tenure on the basis that leasehold tenure confers a holder the right to use land for a defined period of time in exchange for the performance of certain obligations such as the payment of rent. Leasehold rights provide a flexible mechanism for transacting rights in land and for land use control. Malawi’s private land may be held either under freehold or customary tenure. Although not reported in any of the policies examined, customary tenure is in deed akin to freehold as long as customary tenure have weakened and ownership in rural/community areas has departed from communal to individualized entity. Attempts have unsuccessfully been made to convert customary tenure systems to either freehold or leasehold (Uganda and Kenya). The Kenyan attempt was quit strategic in that it used the registered Land Act (Cap 300) to extinguish customary tenure and replace it with rights that would be

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individually and exclusively held. In Rwanda customary tenure is not much favoured as it has been responsible for excessive fragmentation of land. Elsewhere, such as in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia customary tenure systems have been accommodated into statutes or are in the process of being accommodated. Restoration of the mailo system in Uganda is seen as being politically expedient. However, the NLP of Uganda sees the mailo tenure as perpetuating an outmoded and feudal regime. It has hence proposed its conversion into fully fledged freehold or long term leases for land located in urban areas. In all the countries considered, registration of customary land is meant to modify, if not to extinguish, customary tenure. For example, the NLP of Zambia unequivocally states: “In order to advance the advantages of customary tenure practice, the government will introduce group land rights to allow for registration of village, family and clan land as well as cooperatives.” Although this approach is being advanced, the general trend is towards individualization of tenure system (Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia). It is believed that individualization of land through leasehold tenure improves the security of investments by excluding concurrent ownership and improving land transferability and access to credit. Kenya clearly reaffirms this position as its NLP states: “Establish mechanism for the creation of leasehold interests out of public, community and private land, such leases lasting for a maximum duration of 99 years”. There is no doubt that the feasible land tenure of the future is leasehold system, be it for a short term or a long term. 1. Kenya Land tenure refers to the terms and conditions under which rights to land and land-based resources are acquired, retained, used, disposed of, or transmitted. (a) Existing policies and laws on land have protected land rights at the expense of indigenous or communal land rights. (b) The individualization of land rights has undermined indigenous and conservative systems especially in areas inhabited by pastoral communities. (c) Colonial and post colonial land administration in pastoral areas destroyed traditional resource management institutions, thereby creating uncertainty in access, exploitation and control of land and land based resources. Successive governments in Kenya have been poor stewards of Government land and Trust land, due to factors such as abuse of trust and lack of administrative capacities for effective management. In many cases, the State has become an absentee owner. Overall tenure principles: Under the NLP, the guiding principles regarding acquisition, use and disposal of land rights shall include: • Recognition and enforcement of land rights arising under all tenure systems. • Non discrimination in ownership of, and access to land under all tenure

systems. • The development of financial incentives to encourage the efficient utilization

of land. In order to rationalize existing system of private land ownership, the Government shall: • Harmonize existing modes of statutory tenure under the Land Act. • Ensure that the alienation of private rights to land takes into account all

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other legitimate rights held or claimed by other persons over the affected land, such as the rights of spouses and children.

• Ensure that all private land is held on terms that are clearly subordinate to the doctrine of compulsory acquisition and development control.

• Ensure that private land is held, alienable and transmissible without discrimination on grounds of sex, ethnicity, or geographical origin, and

• Ensure that all private land reverts to the State to be managed by the NLC on behalf of the people of Kenya, in case the owner dies without any heirs.

Rights of ownership: Rights of ownership refer to the quantity of rights that different tenure systems confer on individual or groups of individuals. The principal rights of ownership are the right to use, the right to dispose of, and the right to exclude others from the land owned. Freehold tenure: Freehold connotes the largest quantity of land rights which the State can grant to an individual. While it confers unlimited rights of use, abuse and disposition, it is subject to the regulatory power of the State. In Kenya, such interests are held under the Registration of Titles Act (Cap 281), the Land Titles Act (Cap 282), or the Government Land Act (Cap 280). A similar quantity of land rights is conferred by the “absolute proprietorship,” which was introduced by the Registered land Act (Cap 300) to extinguish customary tenure and replace it with rights that would be individually and exclusively held. The dual existence of the freehold and the absolute proprietorship causes confusion. There is no need to continue these two separate classifications of what is essentially the same quantity of land rights. Hence the government shall: • Review and rationalize existing laws on freehold tenure, including merging

freehold tenure and absolute proprietorship, and repealing the principle of absolute sanctity of first registration under the Registered Land Act, and

• Regulate the power of the primary rights holder to dispose of land in order to ensure that such disposal takes into account all other legitimate rights held or claimed by other persons over the affected land, including family rights.

Leasehold tenure: Leasehold tenure is a right to use land for a defined period of time in exchange for the performance of certain obligations such as the payment of rent. Leasehold rights provide a flexible mechanism for transacting rights in land and for land use control. To facilitate the exercise of leasehold rights the government shall: • Align all leases to this policy. • Establish mechanism for the creation of leasehold interests out of public,

community and private land. Ensure that the duration of all leases do not exceed 99 years but is nevertheless sufficient to encourage investment in land. 2. Tanzania Before Tanzania was colonized by the Germans and then the British, the general structure of landholding was based on traditional law and culture of each respective tribe in an area. The individual as a member of a family, clan or tribe acquired rights of use in the arable land he and his family could clear, cultivate and manage. Shifting cultivation was practiced. In many areas there

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was communal land for cultivation and forest land for cutting firewood. In each tribe, Chiefs and elders or Headmen controlled and allocated land to individuals. Each family heir had a share of land which he could not dispose without either getting the consent of other family members and a right of preemption to other heirs. Similarly, where land was held in a clan, the owner could not dispose of it to a non-clan member without first getting the permission of the clan elders. This system continued throughout the period of colonial rule. The introduction of plantation agriculture under the German administration introduced freehold tenure (mostly to settlers). Alienation of land, save that which was in private ownership or possessed by Chiefs or indigenous communities, was facilitated by the passing of the Imperial Decree “Regarding Creation, Acquisition and Conveyance of Crown Land” in 1895 which declared all land as Crown land vested in the German Empire. Under the British Administration, the system of holding land continued to change. Following the enactment of the Land Tenure Ordinance No. 3 of 1923 (later known as Land Ordinance Cap 113), all land in Tanzania whether occupied or unoccupied was declared to be public land. The Ordinance introduced the concept of Right of Occupancy. In attempt to protect native rights, in 1928, a Right of Occupancy was redefined to include the “title of a native community lawfully using or occupying land in accordance with customary law”. After independence, (in 1961), and following the abolition of Chieftaincy by the African Chiefs Ordinance (Repeal) Act No. 13 of 1963 (Cap 51), the controlling power of Chiefs on land was rendered obsolete. In order to give the independent government more control over land, Freehold Titles, (which are titles in perpetuity), were converted into Leaseholds under the Freehold Titles (Conversion) and Government Lease Act (Cap523) of 1963, and were later changed into Rights of Occupancy under the Government Leaseholds (Conversion to Rights of Occupancy) act No. 44 of 1969. (Up to the time of preparation of the NLP there were two types of land tenure systems: Granted Right of Occupancy and Customary Tenure). 3. Uganda Strengthening land tenure system Over 80% of land in Uganda is held on customary tenure. Yet, customary tenure has been suppressed, disregarded and sabotaged by state imposed property regime to freehold. However customary land tenure values and principles have survived. Indeed these values and principles have been known to sabotage the operation of statutory law in situations where customary tenure rights have been converted. The following legislative measure will therefore be put in place to facilitate evolution of customary tenure values and principles as a dynamic instrument for land sector development: • Initiate a programme for the documentation and codification of customary

land tenure rules in different communities. • Design and operationalize a land registry system for customary land rights. • Delete provisions in the Land Act relating to conversion of customary land

tenure to freehold. • Modify rules of transmission of land rights under customary land tenure so

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as to guarantee gender equality and equity. • Inventorise common property resources and vest them in communities to

manage them under customary law. Review of Freehold title Although the government regards it as the property system for the future, very little land is held under freehold tenure in Uganda. Most of those held under freehold system were granted by the colonial government and a few were conferred through the unpopular conversion of customary tenure systems. Therefore there is need to review it to explore possibility of: • Converting all urban land areas held on freehold tenure to leaseholds. • Reversing the policy of conversion of land held under customary tenure to

freehold. Phase out or liberate mailo tenure The restoration of the mailo tenure was politically expedient. BUT it perpetuates an outmoded and feudal regime. The system locks out large areas of land from the development process, thus impeding the growth and orderly planning of land in Buganda and the Kampala Metropolitan area. Legislative measures will thus be taken to either phase it out or liberate it from the restrictions placed upon it by the Land Act. These include: • Administration of a census of all persons living as lawful or bona fide

occupants on land under mailo tenure. • Updating of the mailo land register. • Conversion of mailo tenure into fully fledged freehold or long term leases for

land located in urban areas. • Establishment of a special tribunal for the resolution of disputes over mailo

land. • Enforcement of constitutional principles outlawing gender discrimination in

respect of the transmission of land rights under Baganda customary law. Promote access to land through leasehold As the leasehold system derives land rights from a superior title, it opens land to a much larger range of users. It is therefore essential to promote access to land through leasehold especially in areas of high land demand. Measures will therefore be taken to: • Develop and avail to land users simplified, standard form lease to facilitate

transactions involving land under any tenure. • Ensure that all leasehold arrangements are registered. • Limit the duration of leases over public land or land held under customary

tenure for periods not exceeding 99 years. Facilitate voluntary conversion of urban freeholds and mailo into long term leases. 4. Rwanda Land tenure defined as a set of modes or procedures of land acquisition and ownership. It is a combination of rules that define the modes of access, use and control of land and its renewable natural resources. 5. Malawi The Malawian tenure system generally tends to provide for individual and

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family land use, and usually gives good security of tenure to small landholders. The customary land tenure system is also at the core of rural society and expresses the structure of extended social relations. Hence:

• State and international assistance will be sought for a gradual and demand driven surveying of rural and peri-urban land and the establishment of District Land Registries to facilitate all land transactions.

6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland All property rights recognized by the rule of law are to be protected by the rule of law. Policy: • The national policy shall ensure that all holders of landed property rights,

including farm owners, enjoy uninterrupted use and ownership of their properties.

8. Zambia Before the coming of Europeans, the land was under customary tenure and was used subject to local conditions and customs. Land was then held by the community rather than individual. This facilitated periodic distribution of land among the community members based on population growth, a practice that prevented emergence of a class of landless individuals. Interest in land was primarily for subsistence. Throughout this period, individual rights to land were subordinate to those of the community. As population density increased, communal property right systems emerged. Under these arrangements, the general right to cultivation of a piece of land was also an inseparable and inalienable element of tribal membership. Initially cultivation rights were assigned to individuals on a temporary basis, normally as long as the cleared plot was cultivated. After harvest, the plot could be used for communal purposes such as grazing. As relative scarcity of land increased, pledging or intra-community rental of land emerged and rights to land became synonymous with land clearance. Land that was not used could temporarily be pledged to another family, with the stipulation that it could be returned upon request. This practice facilitated the productive use of land in case the original owner was unable to cultivate it. This form of temporary land transactions was confined to members of the same community. Colonization involved taking away of land from the indigenous people by Europeans for their settlement and use. This brought about evolution of individual property rights to land within customary tenure as a means to participate in the product, capital and labour markets. European settlements were created by the Northern Rhodesia (Crown and Native Lands) Order in Council 1928 – 1963. The Northern Rhodesia Trust Lands Order in Council 1947 t0 1963 started Trust Lands. Many Africans were forcibly dispossessed of their land and moved to areas designated as native reserves. The European settlers introduced freehold and leasehold tenure systems. The attainment of independence did not radically change the administration of land. Before, land was vested in the Secretary of State for colonies, and administered by the Governor of the colony. After independence, land was vested in the President and administered by the Commissioner of Lands. The areas that were designated as Reserves and Trust Land remained so

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designated and controlled by the same rules (Order in Council) until 1995 when they were repealed. Reserve and Trust Land are today collectively known as Customary areas. Hence at independence, Zambia inherited a customary, freehold and leasehold tenure in which administration of customary tenure was subordinate to written law, which applied to Crown land. Rights and interests exercisable under the Reserves, Trust Land and State Land remained unchanged. As of 1st July 1975 all freehold titles were converted to 100 year leases and subsequent leases would have a maximum of 99 years. In 1985 the Government amended the Land (Conversion of Titles) Act of 1975 to restrict non-Zambians from acquiring land without Presidential consent. Guidelines for converting customary tenure to leasehold tenure were issued in the same year. Under the current system, customary land is estimated to be 94% while State land is only 6% of the total land area of 752,614 square kilometers. Under these two categories of land, there is reserve land which is allocated to nature, forest, and wildlife sanctuaries. Reserve land takes about 39% of the total land area. There are two tenure systems in Zambia, viz., customary and leasehold. Customary tenure is an indigenous form of land holding which is generally communal in character. Leasehold tenure is a system of land holding usually held on land that is known as State land and also regulated by statutes. These two systems do not refer to land reserved in the public interest. Hence policy measure: • The government shall introduce a new land classification to be known as

reserve land for all public land uses. In this regard: a) All reserve land shall be registered and a certificate of reservation

issued. b) All reserve land shall not be leased for private use unless it is for the

purposes that it is set aside and authorized by the Minister responsible for land.

c) Government shall create a register for all private concessions on reserve land.

• The President shall reserve the right to make and execute grants and dispositions in state, customary and reserve land.

Customary tenure [See under Registration of Customary Interests in land and Village Titling]

Leasehold tenure: The land under leasehold is also referred to as State land (Crown land in colonial era). Interest in land held under leasehold tenure is acquired by direct grant from the President through the Commissioner of Lands. The Title Deed offers the leased security of tenure. The landholder is bound by conditions attached to the lease such as payment of rent and development conditions. Due to limited State land there is considerable interest in conversion of customary land to leasehold tenure for development purposes. It is believed that individualization of land through leasehold tenure improves the security of investments by excluding concurrent ownership and improving land

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transferability and access to credit. The current 99 year lease is too long and is as good as leasing land for life. Currently there is no distinction between Zambian and non-Zambian in giving out land. The challenges with respect to leasehold tenure include: Ignorance of land alienation procedures; and Lack of willingness by chiefs and practical difficulties in conversion of customary land to leasehold. Policy measures: In order to address the issue of leasehold the government will: • Maintain the period of granting lease title for a period ranging from 1 year to

99 years based on advice from land use experts. • Introduce measures to encourage leasing of land by foreign investors and

residents in line with the Citizenship Economic Empowerment Act. • Provide guidelines that will enable allocation of land according to market

value. • Ensure that land that remains underdeveloped and unutilized within the

specified period is repossessed. 9. Namibia The NLP provides for a unitary land system for Namibia in which all citizens have equal rights, opportunities and security across a range of tenure and management systems. Under the colonial regime there were first and second class systems of land tenure, divided along racial lines. In independent Namibia, the full range of tenure and management systems will be given equal status and validity before the law. Urban Land Freehold is the only form of secure, registerable title available in urban areas which affords the holder ownership that is transferable, inheritable and provides collateral against a loan. Government endorses the idea that urban dwellers, especially in informal settlements should be entitled to hold rights to urban land on the basis of group tenure. This makes sense where there is a desire by a community to retain a customary tenure arrangement already existing or where a community development organization decides to acquire land and facilitate an urban housing development project. Through amendments to the existing titling and registration procedures, costs will be reduced to provide a starter title, inexpensive enough to enable the poor owner to benefit. The titles, aimed at the lower income groups, will be upgraded by stages as owner’s financial circumstances permit. Customary tenure is likely to exist within certain urban areas for some time to come and will be accommodated and accorded equal status alongside other forms of tenure in line with the unitary land system. The urban ‘Permission to Occupy (PTO) Certificates’ is a licence allowing the holder to occupy Government land. The PTO (which can be converted into secure title) will be phased out. Rural Land All tenure types will be given equal status, security and protection. The tenure types are Freehold, Permission to Occupy (PTO) Certificates (these will be phased out), and Leasehold. Leaseholds are long term leases which are secure, registerable, transferable, inheritable, renewable and mortgageable. Leaseholds will be introduced in the rural areas and will be for periods of up to 99 years.

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3.1.1 LAND TENURE TYPES

Summary With the exception of Malawi, Kenya and Uganda, all the countries have proposed to get rid of the freehold tenure system in their national land policies. Rwanda sees customary tenure as an obsolete tenure system which has to go as it has been the cause of excessive fragmentation of the rural land. All country policies, excepting Rwanda, have recommended retention of customary tenure. In addition to the foregoing: Kenya has recommended retention of statutory tenure systems as embraced by the many statutes. This has therefore meant retention of the freehold titles created by statutes. Tanzania has a granted right of occupancy (which is a form of leasehold). Uganda has recommended retention of freehold, mailo and leasehold tenure systems; Rwanda has proposed retention of statutory tenure systems only; and Zambia has proposed two other tenure systems namely leasehold and reserve land tenure systems. Although Cambodia has not been explicit as to the type of tenure it wishes to adopt, any form of tenure system will be expected to be based on either the Private Domain of the State or the Private Domain which are the sources of alienation of land for individual, cooperative or joint ownerships. The NLP of Swaziland has not yet been explicit on the desired tenure system. 1. Kenya Since independence, the country has had two land tenure systems, namely; • Customary and • Statutory land tenure systems.

Existing policies and laws on land have protected private land rights, especially under the Registered Land Act, at the expense of indigenous or communal land rights. Colonial and post colonial land administration in pastoral areas destroyed traditional resource management institutions, thereby creating uncertainty in access, exploitation and control of land and land based resources. 2. Tanzania Existing Land Tenure types: • Customary or deemed Right of Occupancy. • Granted Right of Occupancy.

3. Uganda The Constitution and the Land Act provide that land may be held in terms of four categories namely; • Customary. • Freehold. • Mailo. • Leasehold.

The classification of tenure regimes in both the Constitution and the Land Act into customary, freehold, mailo and leasehold, is beginning to raise a number of juridical questions; e.g. Is there any difference among them? Are the

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Uganda Land Commission, district land boards and land tribunals competent to resolve disputes as to whether a particular parcel of land is in deed held on the basis of any of those tenure regimes? To clarify these, the Constitution , the Land Act and relevant laws will be amended to provide for a simplified, progressive, affordable and implementable land tenure systems which: • Allows tenure regimes of all categories to evolve and develop appropriate

incidents in response to changes in social structures, technologies of land us and market demands.

• Permits inter-convertibility of tenure rights in response to changes in social structures, technologies of land use and ecological imperatives.

• Enables primary tenure regimes (freehold, customary and mailo) to develop their own unique incidents in response to time, circumstances and durability and without artificial mechanisms for unidirectional conversion to freehold tenure currently perceived as dominant system.

4. Rwanda Currently the land tenure system operates in a dual legal system: • The customary law which governs almost all the rural land and promotes the

excessive parceling out of plots through successive father-to-son inheritance system. The NLP states that customary land tenure has become obsolete and does not offer any economic advantage to the tenants or the state.

• The written law which mostly governs land in urban districts and some rural lands managed by churches and other natural and legal persons. This law confers several land tenure rights to individual such as:

a) Land tenancy. b) Long term lease, and c) Title deeds (particularly in towns).

5. Malawi The following tenure systems as defined by the Land Ordinance of 1951 subsist to date: Public, Private, and Customary. The new NLP specifies the following categories: • Government land. This is land acquired and privately owned by the

government and dedicated to a specified national use, e.g. government buildings, schools, hospitals, etc.

• Public land. This is land held in trust and managed by the Government or Traditional Authorities and openly used or accessible to the public at large, e.g. National Parks, Conservation, Historical, Military sites, and dambos.

• Private land. Under Section 24 of the Registered Land Act, this category includes:

(a) Freehold, and (b) Customary estate.

Leasehold can be created out of government land or any private land including customary estates so long as the term of the lease is less than that of the owner. No leasehold estates are to be granted on land classified as public land. 6. Cambodia

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7. Swaziland 8. Zambia Current (post independence) tenure types are: • Leasehold tenure. • Customary tenure.

The policy statement directs as follows: Establish three types of land tenure classifications namely; • Customary, • Leasehold, and • Reserve land tenure.

9. Namibia Forms of land rights will be: • Customary grants. • Leasehold. • Freehold. • Licences, certificates or permits. • State ownership.

3.2 ACCESS TO LAND/(ACQUISITION OF LAND) Summary Two terms have been used to mean the same thing. These are “access to land” and “acquisition of land”. In the policies examined access to land may be achieved through: • Allocation of land in urban or rural areas. • Land adjudication. • Land market operations, and/or • Inheritance. • Prescription1 (Cambodia 5 years, and Rwanda 10 years • Written law (Cambodia and Rwanda)

All policies clarify that governments shall take reasonable legislative and other measures to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on equitable basis, i.e. without discrimination, or denying anyone access to land on the basis of gender, ethnicity, or social and economic status. Uganda goes further to demand enforcement of the law requiring spousal consent for all transactions involving family or community land. While Kenya advocates access to land through promotion of public auctions (where the poor will be excluded!), Uganda calls for the simplification of access to land by the poor through a mechanism free of excessive bureaucracy. While Kenya calls for adjudication and consolidation processes that are speedy, efficient, transparent and accountable, Swaziland refers to allocation procedures that are transparent and allocating authorities who are accountable

1 The word “prescription” might have the meaning of “adverse possession”.

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for their decisions. Cambodia takes a move to prevent development of informal settlement and land grabbing as follows: Illegal acquisition and concentration of land possession by a few individuals or legal entities is a problem in Cambodia. Rwanda and Tanzania requires that all grants of land be made after the subject land has been fully surveyed and approved by the Director of Surveys and mapping. The two also add to this a component of cost recovery on allocation of land for residential and institutional use. Rwanda further requires that strategic options to be put in place to distinguish between urban and rural land; and the mode of acquisition will differ depending on whether it concerns urban or rural land. Malawi tackles the issue of access to customary land and notes that in practice, the allocation of rights to customary land is the responsibility of traditional leaders. Chiefs rely on clan and family leaders to identify and allocate pieces of land to individuals and households from land owned by that group. Once allocated, the family land is held and managed in all respects as private property. BUT the Land Act gives the Minister responsible for land the power to administer customary land and to grant leases not exceeding 99 years. This practice has resulted in converting some customary communal land to freehold without adequate consultation with the customary owners. The process undermined tenure security and increased land pressure and conflict among customary landholders. Hence the NLP proposes that the present system of customary land administration shall be rationalized and the land management responsibilities of traditional leaders made more transparent and compatible with the land management requirements set out in the policy. Regarding allocation of land on leasehold rights, Zambia calls for a systematic planning in the land delivery process; streamlining and simplifying the system for allocation of leasehold rights in order to reduce the number of authorities involved in land alienation and make the system more accessible and affordable to a wide range of eligible applicants; and decentralization of the functions of the Commissioner of Lands up to district level (also see under decentralization of land registry). 1. Kenya • Access to land may be achieved through: (a), allocation of land in urban or

rural areas. (b) Land adjudication, (c) Land market operations, and/or (d) inheritance.

• The NLP directs government to: (a) harmonize and eliminate incidents of multiple allocations and generally allocate land through public auctions, (b) ensure that the processes of adjudication and consolidation are speedy, efficient, transparent and accountable, (c) facilitate and streamline the procedures of commercialization of land rights subject to principles of equity and sustainability, and (d) sensitize and educate Kenyans on the provisions of the Law of Succession Act, and expedite the application of the Act.

2. Tanzania Under the present land laws, there is no restriction on access to land in the country. Any person, citizen or foreigner, can apply and be allocated land for

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any type of use. This has facilitated acquisition of land for speculative purposes, especially in prime agricultural, industrial, commercial and residential areas. The policy statement is:

• All citizens shall have equal and equitable access to land. • In the case of local companies, priority shall be given to those whose

majority share holders are citizens. • All grants of land shall be done after the subject land has been fully

surveyed and approved by the Director of Surveys and mapping. • Allocation of land for residential and institutional uses will be on a cost

recovery basis. (also see allocation of land to non-citizens) 3. Uganda Simplify the process of access to land by the poor through mechanisms free of excessive bureaucracy associated with the freehold tenure regime. To ensure that all tenure regimes recognized under the laws of Uganda confer social, economic and political security to land owners, occupiers and users, legislative and other measures will be put in place to: • Remove all structural and normative impediments internal to the operation

of all tenure systems. • Regulate subdivision of land under any tenure to guarantee the

maintenance of economic security in the land sector. • Guarantee that access to land by way of transfer or transmission is not

denied to anyone on the basis of gender, ethnicity, or social and economic status.

• Enforce the provisions of the Land Act requiring spousal consent for all transactions involving family or community land

4. Rwanda Modes of land acquisition and ownership: There are currently two modes of land acquisition, namely: • Acquisition according to customary law and conceptions, and • Acquisition according to the rules of the written law. (a) Acquisition through the customary law can be: • Through land occupation. This is according to whoever occupies the land

first owns it. (However, modern times renders this obsolete as all vacant land belongs to the State)

• Through inheritance. Land is passed from father to son through inheritance. Girls are excluded from inheritance. Widows are given the right to use the land that belonged to their deceased husbands. The new inheritance law published in the Official Gazette No. 22 of 15th November 1999 has resolved this problem. Article 50 states that “ all legitimate children under the civil law shall inherit equally without any discrimination between male children and the female children.” The land law should take into account this clause.

• Through the process of transfer by sale or as a donation. Where customary concepts are still strong, land is held collectively and so this form of acquisition is not possible. In areas where customary land has been subdivided and given to individual owners with the right to dispose of it, this

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form of acquisition is possible. However the decree law No. 09/76 of 4th March 1976 prohibits sale of land rights without the authorization of the minister of Lands.

(b) Acquisition through written law • Contracts of tenancy (building in urban areas), long lease (land for

agriculture) or free assignment (both rural and urban areas to natural or legal persons for social activities), sale and title deeds (plots that are built in urban areas), right of access (for public institutions).

• By prescription. The time limit of acquisition by prescription is 10 years. This has left out the 1959 refugees who on returning find they have no right over the land which they owned customarily over 30 years ago.

Based on the foregoing modes of acquisition of land, strategic options shall be put in place to distinguish between urban and rural land. The mode of acquisition will differ depending on whether it concerns urban or rural land. The sequence of established procedure shall include: • Encouragement of registration of land property in order to guarantee

security of land tenure. To this effect, an efficient and modern cadastral system should be installed in order to facilitate the process of land registration.

• Establishment of accurate cadastral plans and the registration of land according to modern procedures using computerized facilities.

• Cadastral and title deed registration fees will be met by the tenants. • A clause forbidding the parceling of land by inheritance or transfer inter

vivos will be reflected in the land law. The process of consolidation will be fostered.

• Draw up master plans and land use management plans for urban land as well as master plans for allocation and use of land in rural areas. This is needed to limit the sizes of land property.

• In urban areas, issue a land registration certificate before the construction of a building.

• In rural areas, register and grant registration certificates for a 99 year long lease.

• Land Commissions will be responsible for land acquisition. • The registration certificate will be issued for both land ownership in urban

areas and the 99-year long lease in rural areas, and will be renewable in the latter case.

5. Malawi Customary Lands: In practice, the allocation of rights to customary land is the responsibility of traditional leaders. Chiefs rely on clan and family leaders to identify and allocate pieces of land to individuals and households from land owned by that group. Once allocated, the family land is held and managed in all respects as private property. BUT under section 25 of the Land Act, original title in customary land was removed from chiefs and community owners and vested in the President in trust for all citizens of Malawi. The Act also gave the Minister responsible for lands the power to administer customary land and to grant leases not exceeding 99 years. The practice resulted in converting some customary communal land to freehold without adequate consultation with the customary owners. The process undermined tenure security and increased

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land pressure and conflict among customary landholders. Hence the NLP proposes as follows: • The present system of customary land administration shall be rationalized

and the land management responsibilities of traditional leaders made more transparent and compatible with the land management requirements set out in the policy.

• The power of traditional leaders to control the allocation of customary land among members of their respective communities, including access rights granted to outsiders shall be democratized and protected by statute.

6. Cambodia Ownership of land can arise through: • Automatic acquisition from a specific public purpose and thus belong to the

State; • A grant from the State to a specific party including grants of communal

property, or acquired through transfer of rights from a holder of private property; or

• Five years of peaceful, uncontested possession of land that began before the promulgation of the Land Law (August 30, 2001).

Prevention of illegal acquisition and land concentration: Illegal acquisition and concentration of land possession by a few individuals or legal entities is a problem in Cambodia. Clarification of the status of occupants on large areas of State land and sporadic registration in areas threatened with illegal acquisition are key aspects for preventing illegal acquisition and inhibit land concentration. 7. Swaziland The State must take reasonable legislative and other measures to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis. At present the level of landlessness is very low. • The principles of participation, accountability and transparency are to apply

to all levels of land administration. Insofar as land allocation rights and procedures lack the qualities of transparency and accountability, irrespective of tenure, they should be amended to allow those qualities. Policy: • All current allocation procedures shall be transparent and that the allocating

authorities shall be accountable for their decisions. 8. Zambia Customary land An application for title on land falling under customary tenure begins with a local headman and a chief, who must consent to conversion of tenure by issuing an approval (consent) letter to the district Council. For the Council to approve the application, a physical demarcation in the presence of the headman is required in addition to a sketch map. A recommendation is granted by a full District Council before the application is submitted to the Commissioner of Lands. In the case of allocation falling under a settlement scheme, there is no requirement for a chief or district council approval. Settlement scheme manager transmits the application for title directly to the Commissioner of Lands through the Provincial officer. Once the application is

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received at the Commissioner’s office, the application is scrutinized and plotted onto a Master Map to avoid duplicate registration and overlaps. The application is sent to Survey where it is checked against the Master for presentation to the Commissioner of Lands for offers. Leaseholds The land under leasehold is also generally referred to as State land. Interest held under leasehold tenure is acquired by direct grant from the President through the Commissioner of Lands and is limited to a specific period. The President has delegated his power to the Commissioner of Lands to make and execute grants and dispositions of land subject to special or general directions of the minister responsible for land. Once the planning authorities have created the land, the layout plan is endorsed and stamped by the appropriate planning authority that later relays the plan to the Lands Department for scrutiny and for purposes of ascertaining the availability of the land. Where the land is available the plan is approved and relayed to the Survey Department for numbering and distribution of copies thereof. On receipt of the numbered copy, the Council considers applicants who they interview and thereafter select and recommend suitable applicants to the Commissioner of Lands for issuance of certificate of title. Challenges include: Centralized issuance of certificate of title making it very costly; Lack of coordination between land use functions spread among different institutions; Lack of a systematic mechanism to deal with abuse of office by the agent of the Commissioner of Lands; and lack of systematic planning in the land delivery process. Policy measures: In order to address the issues of land administration, government will: • Ensure systematic planning in the land delivery process. • Streamline and simplify the system for allocation of leasehold rights in order

to reduce the number of authorities involved in land alienation and make the system more accessible and affordable to a wide range of eligible applicants.

• Regulate the system of land allocation and decentralize the functions of the Commissioner of Lands up to district level.

9. Namibia Urban Land Namibia, like most other countries of Africa and the developing world, is experiencing a rapid urbanization of its population, referred to as ‘urban drift’. This has resulted into great demand of land by the urban poor. Hence Town Planning studies will be conducted to ensure at an early stage of establishments that municipalities, towns and villages develop according to flexible guidelines which take into account multi-sectoral inputs, including community consultation. The NLP will aim to overcome inequalities and provide access to affordable land for the poor and disadvantaged sectors of society. Hence: • Local Authorities will provide land serviced to an absolute minimum, i.e.

planned layout with graded access roads through increasing levels of utilities to fully serviced plots.

• The servicing of under-serviced land will be upgraded as the occupant’s financial means permit.

• Plots will be planned for groups as well as for individual use.

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• Those who cannot afford to purchase the most basically serviced plot will be granted a long term right of occupation to a plot where regular rental payment will account towards purchase of the land over an extended period of time.

• Local authorities will audit their holdings and re-examine the utility value of any open space to identify additional development land for all use categories.

• The local authority will continue to be the land administrator while government will act as enabling agency, and enact legislation to ensure policy implementation.

• Government will further assure that: o People and their families will not be evicted without fair compensation. o The immediate heirs can inherit property. o People will be able to sell or otherwise transfer their property. o There will be a reduction in land disputes. o An inexpensive and easily accessible system of administering property

rights.

3.2.1 WOMEN ACCESS TO LAND/(GENDER AND EQUITY ISSUES) Summary “Women access to land” and “gender and equity issues” have been used to refer to the same meaning. Whereas in other sub-themes there are variations in the contents of the policy requirements from country to country, in this one on women access to land, there is a unanimous agreement that men and women shall be entitled to equal rights to land and land based resources; customary rules and procedures relating to succession shall be reviewed and liberalized so as to ensure that the transmission of land to women (e.g. through inheritance) is not impeded; and women are proportionately represented in institutions dealing with land at all levels. 1. Kenya Culture and traditions continue to support male inheritance of family land while there is lack of gender sensitivity in family law. Few women have land registered in their names and lack of financial resources restricts their entry into the land market. Women are not sufficiently represented in institutions that deal with land (men can dispose of family land without consulting women). The NLP directs government to:

• Put in place a legislation to ensure effective protection of women’s rights to land and related resources.

• Secure inheritance rights of unmarried daughters. • Ensure proportionate representation of women in institutions dealing with

land at all levels. • Put in place legal measures to ensure that men and women are entitled to

equal rights to land and land based resources, before marriage(in cases of inheritance), during marriage, upon dissolution of marriage and after the death of the spouse.

• Put in place mechanisms to curb selling and mortgaging of family land without the involvement of the spouse.

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2. Tanzania Under customary land law, women have inferior land rights relative to men, and their access to land is indirect and insecure. Traditional provisions which used to protect women’s land use rights have been eroded. The NLP directs that:

• Women shall be entitled to acquire land in their own right through purchase and allocations.

• Inheritance of clan or family land will continue to be governed by custom and tradition provided they are not contrary to the Constitution and principles of natural justice.

• Ownership of land between husband and wife shall not be the subject of legislation.

3. Uganda To ensure that constitutional and international provisions relating to non-discrimination against women and children are strictly observed, legislative and other measures will be put in place to: • Domesticate all international conventions, (to which Uganda is a party),

which outlaw discrimination against women and children. • Review and liberalize customary rules and procedures relating to

succession so as to ensure that the transmission of land to women is not impeded.

• Ensure that women are fully integrated into all decision making structures and processes relating to access and use of land.

• Design and implement a regime of matrimonial property aimed at the protection of spouses both within and outside marriages.

4. Rwanda According to the constitutional principle of equality for all citizens, all Rwandans enjoy the same right of access to land, without any discrimination whatsoever. 5. Malawi The traditional allocation system ensures that everyone has a piece of land. Of those who have land, 80% inherited the land directly from their parents. Only 3% of rural households are completely landless. There is no doubt therefore that the customary allocation system is egalitarian in the sense of assuring direct grants of land to members. To facilitate the transfer of land ownership through market allocation mechanisms, and to facilitate the transfer of property acquired by parents directly to children, the NLP dictates that:

• All children inherit land and real property belonging to parents equally. The inheritance system seriously discriminates against outsiders and does not encourage internal migration to relieve land pressure. Non-members are only permitted to lease land under customary tenancy arrangements that ensures reversion to the landowners. Furthermore, the system of inheritance encourages the fragmentation of family holdings. Hence:

• Customary land administration practices that promote discrimination, abuse of administrative privilege and established property rights of customary landholders will be discouraged and where necessary prevented by law.

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6. Cambodia Land titling will continue to be available as joint ownership between husband and wife. Furthermore, the principle will be emphasized that women should be represented in the various commissions and committees, such as the Cadastral Commission. 7. Swaziland Existing gender biases in both social and legal contexts are inequitable and inhibiting to national development. Policy: • All land-related gender discrimination in legislation or administration shall be

prohibited under the constitution. • All citizens responsible for raising a family can khonta, and land held

through khonta shall be considered as joint venture for households. • Land-related impediments to gender equity are to be removed. The growth

towards gender equity in customary tenure is to be encouraged. There is currently a tendency to discriminate against fellow Swazi on the basis of their being from a different locality. Policy: • All Swazis are free to buy, lease or khonta anywhere in Swaziland.

8. Zambia The current statutory laws do not discriminate against anyone on the basis of gender. The government has, however, recognized that women still lack control over land especially in customary areas as opposed to lacking access that they gain through their male relatives. The reason for this lies in customary practice. The challenges include: Discriminatory inheritance rules and rights; inadequate participation of women in land administration at all levels and lack of advocacy and sensitization to encourage women to own land. Policy measures: In order to address matters relating to land and gender government shall: • Review statutory and customary laws and practices that perpetuate gender

discrimination. • Mainstream gender in all institutions administering and managing land. • Implement at least 30% land ownership for women

9. Namibia According to the Constitution, all persons shall be equal before the law and that no one shall be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social or economic status. Furthermore, the Constitution provides that women will be accorded the same status as men with regard to all forms of land rights, either as individuals or as members of family land ownership trusts. Every widow or widower will be entitled to maintain the land rights she/he enjoyed during the spouse’s lifetime. Women will be entitled to receive land allocations and bequeath and inherit land. Government will actively promote the reform of civil and customary laws which impede women’s ability to exercise rights over land.

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3.2.2 NON-CITIZENS ACCESS TO LAND Summary Cambodia and Rwanda are silent on non-citizens acquiring access to land. All the other countries are in agreement that non- citizens or foreign companies should not be allowed to acquire land save for investment purposes only and most specify durations that shall not exceed 99 years. (Also see more under access to land for investment). 1.Kenya Under the existing laws, foreigners can apply for and be allocated land for any permissible use. • Under the NLP, the government shall allow non-citizens and foreign

companies to acquire leasehold interests only, and the term of such leaseholds shall not exceed 99 years.

1. Tanzania Before the NLP there were no restrictions on access to land. Any person, citizen or foreigner, could apply and be allocated land for any type of use. The NLP directed as follows:

• Non-citizens shall not be granted land unless it is for investment purposes. • Non-citizens and foreign companies will not be allowed to acquire land

through transfer or purchase of customary land. 3. Uganda Currently, access to land is linked to territorial sovereignty, specifically to citizenship. Preliminary steps regarding access to land by non-citizens will entail: • Removal of all barriers inhibiting access to land by citizens of the member

states (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) of the East African Community.

• Initiating consultation on the design of a model basic land law for the member states of the East African Community.

4. Rwanda 5. Malawi Under the current land law, any person, a citizen or foreigner, can apply and be allowed land for any permissible use ranging from residential, industrial, agricultural and ranching. To prevent citizens from becoming landless in their own country the following will be affirmed by statutes: • Non-citizens and foreign companies will be permitted to acquire land from

the government or directly from private land owners for residential and investment purposes in accordance with their investment objectives.

• Only citizens will be permitted the privilege of owning freehold title in Malawi.

• Non-citizens will no longer be allowed to acquire any new freehold rights or interest in Malawi after 17th January 2002.

• Non-citizens in possession of freehold estates will be encouraged to attain Malawian citizenship to retain their freehold ownership; alternatively the freehold title will automatically be converted to a renewable leasehold

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contract with the reversion to the state; or transfer the ownership through the normal trading of shares.

The new NLP, (quoting Article 28 of the Constitution), allows every citizen the right to acquire property alone or in association with others (including foreigners). 6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland It is the National Policy that:

• Obtaining of property rights over farming and residential land by foreigners can only be in the form of leasehold. All leases can be for a period up to but not exceeding 99 years.

• Property rights over commercial, retail and industrial real property be obtainable by foreign investors either as leasehold or freehold.

8. Zambia The policy measure is:

• Ensure that non-citizens and foreign companies are not allowed to acquire land through transfer or purchase of customary rights.

• Introduce measures to encourage leasing of land by foreign investors and residents in line with the Citizenship Economic Empowerment Act.

9. Namibia In accordance with the Agricultural (Commercial) Land reform Act, foreign nationals may not acquire land or acquire any other property rights, except with the express permission of the Minister.

3.2.3 ACCESS TO LAND FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES Summary Cambodia, Rwanda and Swaziland do not seem to have investment as a matter demanding special access to land. Kenya provides for government compulsory acquisition of: (a) land for investment purposes, (b) all land on which mineral resources have been discovered before allocating it to investors, (c) land for strategic public ventures such as ports, airports, etc. Tanzania’s policy plans to curb speculation and land grabbing or accumulation by setting a ceiling on allocated land (see more under land grabbing/speculation). Furthermore Tanzania’s policy notes that special areas for various investments will be identified and set aside for allocation to investors and that land allocated will be according to their ability to develop it. Malawi and Uganda state that land will be set aside for investment and Malawi go further to fix the duration of the leasehold at a renewable period of 50 years. Zambia’s large part of land lies under customary land (94%). So most of the background text on access to land for investment will be found under registration of customary land; whence the policy recommends to the

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government to: Continue to sensitize the public on the advantages of individual ownership of land through leasehold or customary tenure to improve the security of investments by improving land transferability and access to credit.

1. Kenya • The NLP provides that the government shall compulsorily acquire:

(a) Land for investment purposes. (b) All land on which mineral resources have been discovered before

allocating it to investors. (c) Land for strategic public ventures such as ports, airports, etc.

[Also see under Land Markets where the policy directs government to facilitate allocation of serviced land for investment purposes.] 2. Tanzania (see under ‘land ceiling) 3. Uganda Enhancing access to land for large scale commercial investment without prejudicing security of tenure for the poor. 4. Rwanda

The assessment of expropriation costs carried out in the public interest will also take into account the value of the land. 5. Malawi All citizens and local companies shall have equal access to land in Malawi. Non-citizens and foreign companies interested in acquiring land for investment purposes in accordance with the Investment Promotion Act shall be eligible for renewable leasehold contracts. The standard leasehold term for land leased for investment purposes will be determined on the basis of specific industry requirements, or for a renewable term not exceeding 50 years.

The notion or belief that customary land has no value has been a big hindrance to offering customary land as a share in negotiation to create joint ventures in various projects. This notion is wrong because land has value as a scare resource and has other physical and intrinsic attributes that also contribute to its economic and social value. Hence the NLP states that: • To reduce problems often associated with the valuation of customary land at

the time of acquisition by the government, compensation shall be based on the open market value of the land and all permanent improvements on the land.

• The value of customary land offered, as a share and contribution to joint ventures or investment projects shall henceforth be assessed depending on the use, location of the land, and the intrinsic quality of the land itself.

6. Cambodia

7. Swaziland

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8. Zambia The NLP directs government to: • Continue to sensitize the public on the advantages of individual ownership

of land through leasehold or customary tenure to improve the security of investments by improving land transferability and access to credit.

3.2.4 EXPROPRIATION OF LAND

Summary The phrase “compulsory acquisition of land for public interest” or “acquisition of land for public interest” has been used to mean “expropriation of land” by the State for public interest. With the exception of Uganda which is silent on compulsory acquisition of land for public interest /expropriation, all countries are in agreement that land may be expropriated for public interest following legally established procedures. Tanzania and Swaziland’s policy paper state that reasons for acquisition must be clearly spelt out. Tanzania’s policy further provides that acquisition for public interest may be challenged in a court of law. As the government has a duty to protect the free enjoyment of legally acquired property rights in land, a landholder is entitled to prompt, fair and adequate compensation if the owner’s property happens to be acquired by the government for public use. 1. Kenya The established procedures for compulsory acquisition are either abused or not adhered to leading to irregular acquisition. The policy proposes that:

• The government shall review the law on compulsory acquisition to establish processes and procedures that are efficient, transparent and accountable.

2. Tanzania The President may acquire land for public purpose or for redevelopment. As the term “for public interest” is not defined under the current law and the aggrieved party cannot appeal against the acquisition, the NLP directs that:

• The rights and interests of citizens in land shall not be taken without due process of law.

• Full, fair and prompt compensation shall be paid when land is acquired. • The President’s power to acquire land for public interest shall be

maintained, but reasons for acquisition must be clearly spelt out. • Clear definition of “public interest” will be established by law. • Land acquired for public interest will be compensated based on

“opportunity cost”. • Acquisition of land in the public interest may be challenged in a court of

law.

Compensation: Compensation for land acquired in the public interest will be based on the concept of opportunity cost and will include: • Market value of the real property.

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• Disturbance allowance. • Transport allowance. • Loss of profits or accommodation. • Cost of acquiring or getting the subject land. • Any other costs or capital expenditure incurred to the development of the

subject land, and • Compensation should be paid promptly, and if not paid in time, interest at

market rate will be charged.

3. Uganda 4. Rwanda The policy paper proposes that the assessment of expropriation costs carried out in the public interest will also take into account the value of the land. 5. Malawi (a) The government can compulsorily acquire any property in the public interest (ref. s.24A of the Land Act which requires all freehold owners to give the Minister responsible for lands, 30 days notice and the first right to acquire the land whenever the title holder wishes to sell). Land values shall be determined by open market procedures for customary lands acquired through compulsory acquisition by government. (b) It is possible that land held privately is required either for government use or for redevelopment, and that the government might be inhibited if the required land is not made available when needed for development projects. Therefore, it is necessary to have provision in the law giving the government the opportunity to acquire any piece of land required for public purposes. Hence the NLP states that: • As the government has a duty to protect the free enjoyment of legally

acquired property rights in land, a landholder is entitled to fair and adequate compensation if the owner’s property happens to be acquired by the government for public use.

• Payment of compensation in the event of the repossession of a leasehold interest on government land shall be limited to the negotiated value of unexhausted improvements made by the leaseholder and permanently attached to the land.

• No compensation shall be paid for the land when the private use rights granted as a result of the lease is terminated. Government ownership of the land remains throughout the term of the lease.

6. Cambodia (see under land value and valuation) 7. Swaziland The property rights may only be expropriated under defined legal procedure for defined legal purposes and no law may permit arbitrary deprivation of property rights. Policy: • Compensation for expropriation of ownership or of rights over land shall be

enshrined in the Constitution. • All cases of expropriation of those with a legal right of occupancy under

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statute, common or customary law as appropriate, the compensation should ensure that those affected are no worse off after expropriation than they were before.

8. Zambia 9. Namibia Urban Land Namibia’s urban population is growing at an alarming rate. The NLP requires that all existing urban land be fully utilized. Under utilized and abandoned urban land may be expropriated by the State for re-allocation. Rural Land Abandoned and under utilized land or land which by the advice of the Land Reform Advisory Commission is being under utilized may be compulsorily acquired by the Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation. Land Boards will be authorized to take similar measures against land holders with excess holdings.

3.2.5 LAND VALUE AND VALUATION Summary Kenya does not seem to mention anywhere in the policy document that land has value. Zambia mentions that land has value under the sub theme ‘Land Markets’. With the exception of Kenya, all the policies state that land as a scarce resource has value and that it has other physical and intrinsic attributes that also contribute to its economic and social value. Hence the policies state clearly that land values will be recognized in all transactions involving land and in the assessment of land tax and rent. In that regard, land valuation is necessary for public purchase and/or sale of land and immovable fixtures, for expropriation and compensation, for land property taxation, and for the functioning of property land markets. Tanzania and Malawi specify that land has value as a share in negotiation to create joint ventures in various projects. 2. Tanzania The notion or belief that land has no value has been a hindrance to offering land as a share during negotiations to create joint ventures in various projects and for developing appropriate procedures for determining land rent and land taxes. This notion is wrong because land has scarcity value and that is why land markets have evolved in urbanizing areas and in densely populated regions throughout Tanzania. Hence the NLP states as follows: • Henceforth land has value and land values will be recognized in all

transactions involving land and in the assessment of land rent. • Land rent payable annually for any allocated land shall be based on the

economic value of the land in question. Land rent for leased to non-citizens shall be payable in convertible foreign currency.

• All land transactions shall be subject to taxation. • All land transactions shall be registered with titles before taking legal effect.

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4. Rwanda • All national land resources have value. • The value of land will be determined by its purpose, location, soil nature,

mode of development and its dimensions. • The assessment of expropriation costs carried out in the public interest will

also take into account the value of the land. • The land taxation system should be under the exclusive control of the

government • Land property may be sold, mortgaged, given as a donation or bequeathed

as a will. Based on all these: There will be established a land tax for developed and undeveloped land. 5. Malawi The notion or belief that customary land has no value has been a big hindrance to offering customary land as a share in negotiation to create joint ventures in various projects. This notion is wrong because land has value as a scare resource and has other physical and intrinsic attributes that also contribute to its economic and social value. Hence the NLP states that: • To reduce problems often associated with the valuation of customary land at

the time of acquisition by the government, compensation shall be based on the open market value of the land and all permanent improvements on the land. [Also see under acquisition for public interest].

6. Cambodia Land valuation is necessary for public purchase and/or sale of land and immovable, for expropriation and compensation, for land property taxation, and for the functioning of property land markets. The government will develop both private and public sector capacity (education, training + practice) to value land, strengthen the regulatory framework (valuation authority) for valuation and improve the land information bases required for valuation. 7. Swaziland The clash between cultural and market economy values is that many property rights are communal in the traditional system (with an obligation to use only what is needed and to share the remainder with others), and the market economy places emphasis upon private property, with the property rights belonging to one person who is thereby enabled to accumulate wealth. Policy: • The mortgaging of leases shall be permitted.

On SNL the approval of the competent authority, after consultation with the affected community, is required before land is released by means of a lease. 8. Zambia (see under land market) 9. Namibia Urban land The NLP requires the establishment and proclamation of urban or urbanizing areas as townships and municipalities where appropriate, to promote decentralization and the close involvement of communities in their own administration. Legislation will also be enacted to enable the compulsory

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acquisition of land by central or local government authorities for public purposes in accordance with Article 16 of the Constitution.

3.2.6 LAND MARKET OPERATIONS Summary This sub theme also recurs under “Access to Land for Investment purposes” and “Decentralization of Land Registries”. Although Rwanda and Tanzania have made supportive reference to land market, they have not dealt with it as a separate topic to merit coverage in this section. While Kenya would like to see a vibrant land market in place, the policy statement starts off by outlining aspects that are hindering the operation of the market. The hindrances include inadequate land information, political interference, bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption and absence of innovative market mechanisms. Because land sale and long term leases are not effective in ensuring equity and access to land, the policy paper proposes that government shall encourage development of land rental markets as they have the potential to provide access to land to those who are productive but own little or no land. In order to enhance efficiency in land markets, the policy paper further proposes that the government shall decentralize land registries and facilitate allocation of serviced land for investment. The benefits to be got from promoting land markets are clearly explained and justified by Swaziland’s land policy. It states: “The private sector holds the key to economic growth. It is recognized that the majority of wealth in all countries is held in the form of real property. Without a properly functioning property market, access to that capital is constrained or even denied. Enabling real property markets to work for the benefit of the nation’s citizens is therefore of fundamental economic importance”. All countries examined accept the benefits that can be derived from land markets. However Malawi seems to be very cautious about application of free land market to land held under customary rights: the policy states that (a) Customary property boundaries shall be demarcated and ownership of interest defined to effectively lower the time and cost required to complete customary land transactions, and (b) All dispositions of customary land shall require approval and signature by the relevant head of the land owning group, the Chief, and an independent member of a democratically elected customary land committee.

In Zambia, where the land market is restricted and unregulated, there have emerged racketeering and speculations in land. To capitalize on the benefits of land markets, all the countries have, therefore, recommended measures to promote efficient and equitable operation of private land markets through efficient land delivery services involving registration of rights and record of transactions, as well as speedy dispute processing under specific tenure regimes. Rwanda and Tanzania are silent on what ought to be done to promote land markets.

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1. Kenya The development of a vibrant land market is hindered by inadequate land information, political interference, bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption and absence of innovative market mechanisms. As sale and long term leases are not effective in ensuring equity and access to land, land rental markets have to be encouraged as they have the potential to provide access to land to those who are productive but own little or no land. In order to enhance efficiency in land markets, the policy paper proposes that the government shall:

• Decentralize land registries. • Facilitate allocation of serviced land for investment purposes. • Facilitate and promote the land market operations in community land, and • Encourage the development of land rental markets while protecting the

rights of smallholders by providing better information about transactions to enhance their bargaining power.

2. Tanzania [In the background statement Tanzania notes that there is a need to recognize existence of land markets in urban and rural areas and thus the need to set up clear policy on the same. In the sub theme on land value and valuation the policy paper states that land has scarcity value and that is why land markets have evolved in urbanizing areas and in densely populated regions throughout Tanzania. The policy paper however remains silent on how the land market should be allowed to operate.] 3. Uganda All tenure regimes in Uganda operate in the context of their own peculiar market characteristics. In order to promote efficiency of land markets under recognized land tenure regimes, an enabling environment will be created to: • Facilitate the exchange and transmission of land rights and interests without

compromising tenure security for individual and communities. • Improve the operation of land markets through efficient land delivery

services involving registration of rights and record of transactions, as well as speedy dispute processing under specific tenure regimes.

• Ensure that land rights registers are established and are periodically updated so as to guarantee transactional accuracy hence minimize costly disputes.

4. Rwanda 5. Malawi The government will ensure that urban land markets operate efficiently and effectively so as to meet the demand for serviced plots by all income groups. In a growing economy, the value of real property will be determined under open market conditions. However, customary tenure, in the past, sought to preserve the community’s land assets by discouraging sales. Dispositions through the property market occur mostly in the main cities where freehold and leasehold tenure predominate. The NLP states that: • To accommodate the requirements of Malawi’s growing market economy,

the government will redefine private ownership and disposition of customary land in culturally specific terms (with the view to encouraging land market transactions).

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• Customary property boundaries shall be demarcated and ownership of interest defined to effectively lower the time and cost required to complete customary land transactions.

• Formal records of customary land transactions shall be maintained to ensure transparency and accountability.

There are two possibly negative consequences to the titling of family property in the name of the household head: (i) individuals may dispose of the property independent of the other members of the family; (ii) the land certificate may not be available as collateral when the person named in the certificate is not available. Hence: • Excepting cases of emergency and/or where it could be established by the

headperson and the Customary Land Committee that all named members above 18 years of age have agreed to sale, no sale of customary estate will be permitted to persons outside the immediate family during the first 5 years of titling a family estate.

• Any sale of a family or group customary estate without express written consent of all persons named on the land certificate will be considered invalid.

Malawi is moving to transform its predominantly communal subsistence economy to a market driven economy based on private property and free enterprise. This exposes most rural families and small holders to the risk of loss by sale and racketeering by unscrupulous persons and real estate agents. To protect against the potential loss of customary land by small holders and other vulnerable groups ignorant of their property rights, the government will assert the following regulations: • Any disposition of customary land effectively transfers only the registered

usufructuary right of the grantor and cannot transfer the residual property interest vested in the community.

• No disposition of customary land in Traditional Land Management Area other than rights acquired through a lease or sale of a registered customary estate will be allowed.

• To safeguard the interests of customary land holders, and to allow time for the new statutory rights to be fully understood by rural land holders, provision shall be made to prohibit the sale of land to persons other than members of the lineage group in the first five years following the establishment of a private customary estate.

• All dispositions of customary land shall require approval and signature by the relevant head of the land owning group, the Chief, and an independent member of a democratically elected customary land committee.

6. Cambodia Land markets for purchase and rental, along with their financing arrangements, are the primary mechanisms for the allocation of private land. The government seeks to promote efficient and equitable operation of private land markets. Land markets will function in parallel with State land allocation policies. 7. Swaziland The private sector holds the key to economic growth. The effective operation of the sector is dependent on the establishment of clearly defined, enforceable

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and transferable property rights – including land related property rights by a legal framework, and their efficient administration through an institutional framework. It is recognized that the majority of wealth in all countries is held in the form of real property. Without a properly functioning property market, access to that capital is constrained or even denied. Enabling real property markets to work for the benefit of the nation’s citizens is therefore of fundamental economic importance. The land market is not operating to the benefit of all Swazis. The majority of potential purchasers are excluded from the formal land market. It is National Policy that: • The land markets be enabled to work efficiently and equitably, i.e. for the

benefit of all Swazi’s. [Also see under Land Registration for more] 8. Zambia Although land has value, land is allocated freely, at no charge to the beneficiary. In spite of restrictions on the land market, land sales are common in most parts of urban Zambia. The current land market system in Zambia is unregulated and limited to land held on leasehold. Since it is unregulated, this results in racketeering and speculation. Challenges include: Lack of valuation capacity in land administration; Lack of determined land value resulting in speculation; unregulated land market transactions leading to fraudulent behaviours; Lack of regulatory framework for real estates agents; Lack of active participation of land in capital market; Informal property ownership by the majority, most of whom are poor, means that land is not an asset base for the poor; and Lack of nationwide register of land rights. Policy measures: The government will: • Strengthen valuation capacity in the Ministry responsible for land. • Ensure that land valuation records showing land value for different

categories of land are maintained for effective transparent land administration.

• Ensure that land is sold to applicants at the time of offer as determined by government valuers.

• Facilitate the provision of land market information.

3.2.7 PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE GROUPS Summary The most vulnerable persons include subsistence farmers, pastoralists, hunter and gatherers/minority communities, agricultural labourers, unskilled and low skilled workers, unemployed youths, internally displaced persons, refugees, persons with disabilities, orphans, slum and street dwellers, the aged as well as persons living with HIV/AIDS. People in this category are described as being vulnerable because they lack the means to access, use and own land and land based resources. Rwanda and Tanzania do not seem to be covered under this subtitle. While some countries seek to put more emphasis on protection of the rights of the vulnerable people through improvement of land tenure security (Kenya, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia), others (Kenya, Malawi, and Cambodia) seek

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to address poverty alleviation measures through distribution and redistribution of land to them. Those which seek to protect land rights Kenya, proposes to put in place a mechanism for redistribution of land and resettlement of internally displaced people and protecting their land rights from unjust and illegal expropriation. In a move to avert overstretching of resources such as land, fuel wood, water and pastures, Kenya proposes to establish refugee camps in conformity with development planning and control regulations. Swaziland, proposes to strengthen institutions to ensure the protection of inheritance of property rights relating to HIV/AIDS bereavements. Uganda notes that most of the poor, ethnic minorities and the internally displaced persons occupy land on the basis of precarious and unprotected land rights systems, which expose them to constant evictions, removals and displacements. The policy paper therefore proposes that the government shall defend and preserve the traditional habitats of marginalized communities and provide infrastructure for their improvements. Those which seek to address poverty alleviation Malawi puts forward a detailed proposal on poverty alleviation to (a) Undertake a land redistribution and resettlement program as a strategy for managing current land pressure; (b) Establish a social development fund for providing basic social and economic infrastructure, poverty alleviation and employment relief for households willing to resettle to new homesteads (c) Changing the present uneconomic household land holding of less than half a hectare per household to holdings deemed adequate for subsistence and cash crop farming; (d) Encourage the resettlement of landless and land-short households in carefully selected areas throughout the country; and (e) Abandoned farms and estate holders who have defaulted will have their rights revoked and the land made available for redistribution to needy smallholders. Cambodia, like Malawi, addresses the issue of poverty alleviation through institutional strengthening by stating thus: “Because of the strong link between landlessness and poverty, land distribution will directly lead to poverty reduction by providing households with productive assets as well as contributing to good governance by reducing land conflicts, thereby improving social relations at local levels”. Zambia proposes a number of measures which include (a) Assurance that the disabled persons will access land like any other persons; and (b) Where practical and necessary persons with disabilities will be involved in land management decision making. Regarding people with HIV/AIDS, Zambia proposes that the government will ensure recognition of the impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic in land administration and management services and work in partnership with other stakeholders to redress the impact of the pandemic.

1. Kenya The most vulnerable persons include subsistence farmers, pastoralists, hunter

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and gatherers, agricultural labourers, unskilled and low skilled workers, unemployed youths, persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV/AIDS, orphans, slum and street dwellers and the aged. These people lack the means to access, use and own land and land based resources, the government shall:

• Put in place mechanisms for redistribution of land and resettlement, • Protect their land rights from unjust and illegal expropriation.

In areas with refugee camps, resources such as land, fuel wood, water, and pastures are overstretched. The government shall therefore:

• Ensure that the establishment of refugee camps is subject to development planning and control, and

• Ensure the provision of adequate resources for the conservation and rehabilitation of refugee camps.

Some Kenyans have been displaced from their land as a result of tribal and land clashes and are currently hosted in camps: The government shall:

• Resettle as appropriate all internally displaced persons. Minority groups include hunter-gatherer communities whose land was taken away through gazettement of their habitats as forests or national reserves or excision and allocation to individuals who subsequently obtain titles to land. To protect and sustain the land rights of minority communities, the government shall:

• Undertake an inventory of the existing communities, • Develop a legislative framework to secure their rights, including restitution.

2. Tanzania 3. Uganda Most of the poor in Uganda live in the rural areas or in squalid conditions in urban settlements. These include farms and informal settlement dwellers, ethnic minorities (including hunter gatherers), and internally displaced populations. These population groups occupy land on the basis of precarious and unprotected land rights systems, which expose them to constant evictions, removals and displacements. In order to ensure that the rights of these communities are protected, legislative and other measures will be put in place to: • Document and protect such de facto occupation rights against arbitrary

evictions or displacements. • Accord security for informal sector activities without compromising physical

planning standards and requirements. • Defend and preserve the traditional habitats of marginalized communities

and provide infrastructure for their improvements. • The development of land banks for the periodic resettlement of the poor and

marginalized groups. HIV/AIDS leads to a crisis of agricultural production through loss of labour, generates landlessness and poverty through asset transfers, distress land sales and abuse of inheritance procedures. To protect the land rights of persons infected with HIV/AIDS, legislative measures will be put in place to: • Control rural land market operations to prevent distress sales involving

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victims of HIV/AIDS. • Mainstream HIV/AIDS intervention into all land sector activities.

Encourage concurrent ownership of rural land through registration of family or community trusts. Monitoring of changing land needs The greatest demand in the urban sector is likely to be for housing development, physical infrastructure and recreation, while in the rural areas it will focus on large scale investment, resettlement of the landless and displaced populations, and the location of service centres. Long term measures for constant assessment and inventorization of land needs will therefore be required. The measures required will include: • Maintain an inventory of land availability and suitability for specific uses. • Encourage the Uganda Land Commission, District Land Boards and Local

Authorities to establish land banks. • Strengthening urban and rural land use planning processes to prevent land

wastage. • Develop early warning systems for the detection of land depletion.

5. Malawi Due to political expedience and the immediate need to avert social unrest, particularly in the south, the government will seek support to develop and sustain a land transfer and resettlement scheme. The government will therefore pursue the following land policy: • Undertake a land redistribution and resettlement program as a strategy for

managing current land pressure and a long term solution for preventing the emergence of land crisis.

• Establish a social development fund for providing basic social and economic infrastructure, poverty alleviation and employment relief for households willing to resettle to new homesteads.

In areas of emergencies, the average land holding has been reduced to less than 0.5 hectares. Attempts to redistribute land failed because the scarcity factor associated with people’s relationship with the terrain as a resource is not land itself, or production values, but the human factors it commands: kinship relations, economic linkages, social network and demographic and ecological preferences. All these factors have to be taken into consideration for land redistribution program to succeed. The Ministry will ensure that: • Guaranteeing access and adequate land compels changing the present

uneconomic household land holding of less than half a hectare per household to holdings deemed adequate for subsistence and cash crop farming.

• A strategy to encourage the resettlement of landless and land-short households in carefully selected areas throughout the country will be promoted.

• Leaseholds scattered around the country that are considered in excess of established industry requirements, abandoned farms and estate holders who have defaulted will have their rights revoked and the land made available for redistribution to needy smallholders.

6. Cambodia Land distribution:

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The objective of land distribution policy is to promote land distribution with equity. Because of the strong link between landlessness and poverty, land distribution will directly lead to poverty reduction by providing households with productive assets as well as contributing to good governance by reducing land conflicts, thereby improving social relations at local levels. 7. Swaziland The current rate of HIV/AIDS infection means that Swaziland will face unprecedented challenge to its own way of life. It is imperative to strengthen institutions to protect the rights of those whose rights may be challenged in any future social disruption. Policy statement measure:

• Institutional strengthening shall be effected to ensure the protection of inheritance property rights [relating to HIV/AIDS bereavements], irrespective of the form of tenure under which such rights are held.

8. Zambia The emergence of HIV/AIDS and other terminal diseases such as cancer, and high blood pressure have far reaching ramifications on land tenure. • Government will ensure that disabled persons access land like any other

persons. • Where practical and necessary involve persons with disabilities in land

management decision making. There is thinking that those with HIV/AIDS virus do not need land as they would not be able to properly use it. In many places close relatives grab the land and orphans/widows lose access to the land following the death of a breadwinner. Challenges include: distress sales of land at distress prices due to illness and death of landowner; inadequate recognition of the impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic in land administration and management services. Policy measure: • The government will ensure recognition of the impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic

in land administration and management services and work in partnership with other stakeholders to redress the impact of the pandemic.

• Provide a policy framework for addressing poverty reduction, gender equality and mitigation of HIV/AIDS in land administration.

9. Namibia The NLP defines the poor as the landless or those with little or insufficient access to land who are not in formal employment or engaged in non-agricultural business activities. Government policy will at all times seek to secure and promote the interests of the poor, ensuring that they are in practice able to enjoy the rights of which they are assured. A special commitment will be made to ensure equity in access to land and in security of land tenure. Rural Land Land will be procured by government from the freehold sector for equitable distribution of agricultural land to the benefit of formerly disadvantaged Namibians.

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3.2.8 LAND HOARDING/ SPECULATION, CEILING AND REVOCATION Summary Speculation in land or land hoarding is a sub theme which is also mentioned (but not discussed) under Access to Land, Dispositions, and Land Taxation and Land Markets. Rwanda’s policy does not discuss this matter of land hoarding/speculation. Land speculation is a symptom of both poorly functioning land market and a lack of viable alternative investment opportunities. It promotes development of unplanned settlements, encourages urban sprawl, increases the cost of delivering services, creates an artificial shortage of development land and interferes with the government’s desire for fair distribution of land. Countries which have tackled the issue of land hoarding propose to discourage it through strict enforcement of development conditions; granting of planned urban land and ensuring timely effective utilization of the land; disallow disposition of land for which all development conditions have not been complied with (NB: This exempts mortgaged land); imposition of punitive tax incentives to prevent speculative holding of agricultural and urban land; and treating land that has not been developed as per the stipulated conditions to be speculative and so be considered as they have breached the development conditions. Tanzania goes further to state clearly that any party granted a Right of Occupancy over a piece of land, is guaranteed free enjoyment of the same during all the term of the Right of Occupancy, provided that the landholder fulfills all the conditions implied and stipulated in the Certificate. Short of this, the allocation authority shall initiate revocation process. With regard to land ceiling, all policy documents propose that legislation should set the highest amount of land surface area that can be allocated. This approach is intended to check against holding of large tracts of land which is not economically utilized. The policy of Cambodia sets the ceiling at 10,000 hectares, clarifying that any existing area exceeding this amount shall be reduced. Kenya and Malawi are additionally against excessive fragmentation of land into sub economic levels. 1. Kenya The NLP proposes to control excessive fragmentation of land into sub-economic units and also check against ownership of large tracts of land which is not economically utilized. This is geared towards ensuring that all land is productively utilized and used sustainably. 2. Tanzania The NLP noted that currently, large land parcels were being allocated to individuals, private firms including foreign investors regardless of their proven ability to develop them. Consequently large areas of land remained undeveloped. The NLP directed as follows:

• Special areas for various investments will be identified and set aside for allocation to investors by the government.

• Land will be allocated to investors according to their ability to develop it and that interests of citizens over their land shall be safeguarded.

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• Land ceilings will be fixed by government. • Land hoarding will be discouraged by strict enforcement of development

conditions. Any party granted a Right of Occupancy over a piece of land, is guaranteed free enjoyment of the same during all the term of the Right of Occupancy, provided that the landholder fulfills all the conditions implied and stipulated in the Certificate. The policy statement states as follows: • An Allocating Authority shall initiate the process of revocation if developed

conditions contained in the Certificate of Occupancy are not met. The President shall retain the power of revocation.

• Conditions and procedures for revocation of rights to village land will be defined by the Village Assemblies.

Some landholders speculate or dispose of land before meeting development conditions. This practice interferes with planned development and fair distribution of land. Hence the NLP directs government to observe the following:

• Though land has value, a landholder can only transfer the Right of Occupancy.

• Special taxes will be imposed to deter land speculation. • With the exception of dispositions in the form of sale or mortgage,

dispositions will not be allowed unless all development conditions have been complied with.

• Regulations will be drafted to protect risk groups such as displaced persons, children and lower income people.

• No disposition of land under statutory Right of Occupancy other than land acquired through customary tenure and Operation Vijiji will be allowed within the first three years of its acquisition.

• The consent of the Minister or his appointed land officers is not necessary for market transfer to take place.

• When majority shares in a local company changes from citizens to foreigners, the Minister shall convert the right of occupancy to leasehold.

3. Uganda Imposition of land ceilings to prevent unproductive accumulation of land. 4. Rwanda 5. Malawi Granting land tenure security to investors, developers and individual households in urban areas aim to encourage planned development and to ensure timely effective utilization of land. Speculative holding of land greatly interferes with the desire of the government to encourage a fair distribution of land to the users. Speculation also promotes illegal and unplanned development. It encourages urban sprawl, increases the cost of delivering services and creates an artificial shortage of development land. For speculative profits, some landholders sell their plots when they are still bare or underdeveloped or just a short period after acquiring them. Hence: • To control speculation in undeveloped urban (and peri-urban) leaseholds,

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no disposition will be allowed unless all the development conditions have been complied with. However dispositions in the form of mortgages for purpose of complying with development conditions will be allowed.

• Undeveloped urban plots and development that fails to meet building quality standards and required land development intensity will be regarded as speculative development and breach of development conditions.

At present big parcels are allocated to individuals, private and foreign investors regardless of their proven ability to develop them. As a result, large areas of land remain undeveloped or are held for speculative purposes for several years. The NLP states that the government shall require that: • Government land is allocated to investors according to their ability to

develop and that interests of citizens over their land are safeguarded. • Government will establish guidelines for setting ceilings on the size of land

controlled by any one person, group of persons or organizations. Similar guidelines to prevent extreme fragmentation will also be determined.

• Planning and development conditions shall be strictly monitored and where necessary, punitive tax incentives imposed to prevent speculative holding of agricultural and urban land regardless of tenure classification.

Cambodia Agricultural concessions Concessions for intensive agricultural exploitation cannot exceed 10,000 hectares, and that existing concessions above this size must be reduced. Concessionaries cannot transfer any rights to the concession. Concessions which are not exploited within 12 months after issuance will be cancelled. 7. Swaziland Policy: • Swaziland National Land (SNL) is not to go unutilized for long periods; in

particular, all available land should be utilized for the production of basic foodstuffs (including livestock) or cash crop.

• Holders of land being unused under SNL shall be allowed to sublease to other nationals who have the capacity to utilize the land. In case the land owner has not sublet, the competent authority may allocate the land to someone else for a period.

Land hoarding in expectation of resale windfalls: Land hoarding is a symptom of both poorly functioning land market and a lack of viable alternative investment opportunities. It is National Policy that: • A Capital Gains Tax be introduced. • Communities are to be notified of an adjacent farm coming up for sale. • Sales of all farms are to be brought before the Land Speculation Control

Board for approval before the conclusion of the contract. (Where there are farm dwellers on site, prospectus purchasers are to state to the satisfaction of the Board how they will settle the farm dwellers before they can be allowed to buy the farm, otherwise consent/exemption should be refused.)

8. Zambia Policy measure:

• Set maximum holding size to land on the basis of capability and use suitability or technology.

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9. Namibia Rural Land In terms of the Agricultural (Commercial) Land Reform Act, freehold land in excess of two economic units as defined by the Land Reform Advisory Commission may be compulsorily acquired by the Minister for redistribution. Land Boards will be authorized to take similar measures against holders of other informal or formal land rights where their land holdings are considered to be excessive of what is required for normally profitable production. Compensation may take the form of alternative land and/or money.

3.3 LAND REGISTRATION Summary Two terminologies, “land registration” and “land rights delivery” have been used synonymously. Only Swaziland and Zambia have stated the type of land registration that they implemented. Malawi used to have a deeds registration system which was later replaced with title registration. Zambia operates a deeds system. All the other country policies are not explicit on this matter. All policies refer to inefficient land rights delivery system largely caused by poor records keeping which, in Kenya, has additionally encouraged multiple allocations and registration of plots of land; lack of records on land held by villages, public institutions, and government; and registration systems that are manually operated causing many errors and delays in the registration system. Hence all propose to modernize and computerize the land registration systems as well as to provide for registration of all government properties and properties under public institutions such as forests and wildlife sanctuaries. Specifically, Kenya refers to having too many statutes dealing with registration of land rights. It therefore recommends repeal of these statutes and replacing them with one Land Registration Act which shall recognize and protect all legitimate rights and interests in land held under the categories of land set out in the policy. The policy points out other existing shortfalls which include a land delivery system that: has not achieved equitable and fair distribution of the limited land resource; is rife with land speculation, corruption, political interference and the abuse of power by the public agencies mandated to manage land. Accordingly, the policy recommends: the need to facilitate access to land information; and to ensure that land records are authenticated, documented, and their custody and sanctity secured. Tanzania’s additional issues include: Many alienated lands remain unregistered for many years because of the slow process of preparation of Certificates of Right of Occupancy; encroachments and alienations of government and statutory allocations as well as double allocations of untitled land that have resulted in many land disputes. Hence the policy document has proposed to: Ensure that grantees of granted Certificates of Title get the Certificate within 180 days from the date he got the letter of offer, otherwise the grantee can register the Letter of Offer with the Registrar of Titles as notice of impending ownership; and to issue Certificates of Title for all government

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and public properties such as National Parks. Regarding village land the policy directs the government to: (a) Demarcate village land and issue to villages, title on common property resources; and (b) Make compulsory the registration of customary interests in land to safeguard the interests of villagers. Uganda’s policy proposes that the registration system needs urgent modernization and simplification to: establish, operationalize and observe regular maintenance of community land registries for the recording and certification of land rights under customary law; and to amend existing laws to eliminate the need for expensive cadastral maps and deed plans. Rwanda’s current land registry contains some gaps: it exists only in urban areas, and it is not based on cadastral maps that have reliable bases. Hence the strategic options include to: make an inventory of all plots of land including owners and their particulars; carry out a fiscal evaluation of all properties so as to determine, for each developed land unit, a cadastral rental value for calculating taxes; update the land registry; train senior employees in land-use planning and rural development as well as topographical surveyors and land surveyors; and to formulate decrees and laws creating rural land districts and prepare the way for the appointment of land title registrars. Malawi is experiencing a severe absence of technology for speeding up the title registration process and it intends to computerize the system. Cambodia desires to improve the registration of all properties as a policy goal so as to increases land tenure security and improve the operation of the land market; thus fostering economic growth. Zambia will employ a system of land registration that avoids duplicate issuance of one parcel, forgery, and Implement a systematic adjudication and registration of land interests in customary areas to equalize the rights of all citizens to land. 1. Kenya Since independence Kenya has had two land tenure systems, namely Customary and Statutory land tenure systems. These land tenure systems are operated under the following statutes: • Registration of Titles Act (Cap 281). • Government Land Act (Cap 280). • Land Titles Act (Cap 282). • Registered Land Act (Cap 3000). • The Land (Group representatives) Act (Cap 287). • The Trust Land Act (Cap 288), and • Sectional Properties Act No. 21 of 1987.

There are too many statutes dealing with the registration of land rights. No attempt has been made to harmonize these statutes to ease the process of registration of land rights and facilitate speedy access to land registration information. There is need to harmonize the registration statutes to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the process of land registration. The Government shall: • Enact a Land Registration Act which shall recognize and protect all

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legitimate rights and interests in land held under the categories of land set out in this policy.

• Repeal the Land Adjudication Act and Land Consolidation Act, and • Repeal the land registration provisions of Registration of Titles Act (RTA)

(Cap 282), the Land Titles Act (LTA) (Cap 282) and the Registered Land Act (RLA) (Cap 300).

Land rights delivery: Land rights delivery is the process of mobilizing institutional mechanisms and personnel for ascertaining and registering land rights. The current system of land rights delivery has not supplied adequate serviced land at an affordable price. Furthermore, the system has not achieved equitable and fair distribution of the limited land resource. The unsatisfactory land rights delivery system is also a result of land speculation, corruption, political interference and the abuse of power by the public agencies mandated to manage land. The inefficiency of the existing land delivery system is due to poor record keeping which has encouraged multiple allocations and registration of plots of land. In order to establish an efficient land rights delivery system, the Government shall: • Align land rights delivery procedures and processes with this policy. • Consolidate, harmonize and streamline all land registration statutes to

ensure clarity and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks. • Ensure that land records are authenticated, documented, and their custody

and sanctity secured, and • Computerize land records and facilitate access to land information.

2. Tanzania In order to ensure proper management of land and to protect existing land rights, it is necessary to maintain a good land information system that will also be important for planning. Land records are poor because of reasons that include:

• Lack of records relating to land occupied under customary law, • Statutory allocations such as National Parks, Forest reserves etc. are not

registered, • Government allocations are never registered. Therefore encroachment of

these areas is very common, and • Many alienated lands remain unregistered for many years because of the

slow process of preparation of Certificates of Right of Occupancy. The consequence of all these is encroachments and alienations of government and statutory allocations as well as double allocations of untitled land that have resulted in many land disputes. Hence the NLP directs government to:

• Ensure that grantees of granted Certificates of Title get the Certificate 180 days from the date he got the letter of offer; otherwise the grantee can register the Letter of Offer with the Registrar of Titles as notice of impending ownership.

• Issue Certificates of Title for all government and public properties such as National Parks.

• Establish machinery by which a copy of land records registered at all

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corresponding Zonal Registries will be stored at the Central registry as a national archive for land records.

• Record and register rights of residents in unplanned urban settlements. • Make compulsory the registration of customary interests in land to

safeguard the interests of villagers. • Demarcate village land and issue to villages, title on common property

resources. • Maintain Land Registry offices under the Ministry of Lands, but gradually

decentralize the services. 3. Uganda Land rights delivery functions involving the processing of rights in respect of freehold, mailo, and statutory leaseholds are performed by a land registry system that is still manually organized. Land rights deliveries under customary tenure are based on memory and folklore. None of these systems has served the land sector well. Hence the system needs urgent modernization and simplification to include: • Establishment, operationalization and regular maintenance of community

land registries for the recording and certification of land rights under customary law.

• Amendment of existing laws to eliminate the need for expensive cadastral maps and deed plans (also see under surveys and mapping).

• Computerization of all land registries commencing with those established in urban areas.

• Design of a system for systematic tracking of changes in proprietorship through transmissions, sub-divisions, mutations and boundary adjustments, to prevent distortions in land registry information.

4. Rwanda The land register is both a list and a registry of land values (owned plots) and their owners and a representation of the territorial layout. For each administrative entity, it comprises a cadastral matrix which describes, for each apparent owner, the list of properties that he/she owns, a cadastral plan (computerized or not) drawn using topographic methods that covers all numbered plots; and a section status, which is a list of plots with their numbers and owners by administrative subdivision. The land registry should at least contain a description of the plots and land rights, and incorporate a number of other elements such as soil, topographical and other land use management maps. The land registry serves as a tool for establishing land tax and the registration of title deeds. The functions of the land registry: • Financial: evaluation of land property, determination of land taxation bases. • Legal and land related: Identification and physical description of land

properties, identification of their owners. • Technical: Establishment and updating of the parceling plan for physical

identification of these properties. Rwanda’s current land registry contains some gaps: it exists only in urban areas, it uses manual techniques that allow many errors in terms of measurements and registration, and it is not based on cadastral maps that

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have reliable bases. Hence the strategic options include: • To make an inventory of all plots of land and all premises. • To identify the owners and record their essential particulars. • To provide the physical description of the land in the form of a large scale

plan. • To carry out a fiscal evaluation of all properties so as to determine, for each

developed land unit, a cadastral rental value which will be used as a basis for calculating taxes.

• Update the land registry taking into account all changes affecting the properties and their owner

• To train senior employees in land-use planning and rural development as well as topographical surveyors and land surveyors.

• To decentralize services responsible for land management. • To formulate decrees and laws creating rural land districts and pave the way

for the appointment of land title registrars. 5. Malawi Registration and protection of property rights Deed Registration The registration of deeds was introduced in Malawi to record transactions affecting land under the Deeds Registration Act (Cap 58.01), and was designed to record copies of whole documents, plans and other evidence of conveyance that may or may not involve the transfer of title. Title Registration Land titling in Malawi is currently governed by the Registered Land Act of 1967 (Cap 58.01) as a simpler and more direct method of recording land ownership in place of deeds. This Act was introduced because of the weakness in the system of deed registration and the absence of documentary proof of title. The first requirement of Title Registration is that it is based on a land parcel, precisely defined as a unit to give permanence to the record. That unit of property is what is registered and its ownership identified. Registration provides validity to the transaction since the original proof of ownership acts as a guarantee of the root of the title. The most shortcoming of existing title registration system is the stark absence of technology for speeding the title registration process. The entire procedure is manual and time consuming. Hence the NLP states that: • A strategy to modernize and computerize the land registration system will be

undertaken as a matter of priority. 6. Cambodia The policy of the government is that all land rights, both private and public, should be registered in the names of their current owners. Registration protects the landowners from potentially competing claims. It provides evidence to third parties about who the owner of a property is. It gives government information about the administrative location of a property and clarifies who is responsible for tax liabilities. For these reasons, registration of all properties is a policy goal which increases land tenure security and improves the operation of the land market; thus fostering economic growth. 7. Swaziland

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Deeds, conveyancing, surveying, valuation, etc. The government infrastructure and the private sector capacity to deal with the greatly increased demand that a properly functioning property market implies is limited. The National Policy states that: • A legal and administrative infrastructure which is capable of delivering

clearly defined, enforceable and transferable property rights to as many Swazis as inexpensively as possible shall be facilitated.

• Market performance towards land delivery be facilitated at price levels accessible to the target market.

• The standards of land delivery imposed do not impeded land delivery, subject to the basic standards of environmental health and infrastructure delivery.

[Except for the sub title above, this section seems to fit better under Land Markets.] 8. Zambia Land registration is provided for under the Lands and Deeds Registry Act Cap185. All interests in land must be registered under the Act within a prescribed time; otherwise the interests may become null and void. The registry is located in Lusaka. Challenges include: Centralized land registry is very expensive to users; Slow and tedious system of registration; Manual registration system prone to errors and abuse and not easily useful for monitoring of land market dynamics. Policy measure: In addressing challenges of land registration Government will: • Decentralize and modernize land registry offices. • Employ a system of land registration that avoids duplicate issuance of one

parcel and forgery. • Provide for registration of all properties under public institutions and other

estates such as forestry and wildlife sanctuaries and concessions. • Implement a systematic adjudication and registration of land interests in

customary areas to equalize the rights of all citizens to land. 9. Namibia At present Namibia has only two registries for land rights: Windhoek and Rohoboth. To provide secure rights on a much wider scale and to bring more control and direction of land matters to communities, it will be necessary to increase registration capacity and to decentralize. Rural Land All approved forms of land tenure will in future be accorded equal recognition and status.

3.3.1 LAND ADJUDICATION/ DISPUTE RESOLUTION/ SETTLEMENT MACHINERY, AND LAND REGISTRATION. Summary “Land adjudication” and “dispute resolution/settlement” have the same meaning, namely to ascertain land rights ownership and to provide a solution where before there was a misunderstanding. This kind of ascertainment of rights ownership in land and acceptance by the parties concerned is essential before the rights can be registered. Accordingly, land adjudication has been defined as the process of ascertaining and recording rights and interests in

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land claimed by individuals and other entities. Once ascertained, such rights and interests are entered into a land register, which facilitates the accuracy of the land information system and enables efficient transactions in land. In Cambodia, high incidence of land disputes has been caused by: poverty, destruction of land records, public ignorance about the legal framework, widespread informal acquisitive possession of State property by all classes, economic and power imbalances in the land market, and in some cases, corrupt practices. In Tanzania land disputes have arisen because of causes which are different from those in Cambodia. They include: multiple allocations of plots, poor records keeping, lack of or failure to follow laid down procedures in land allocations, revocations and acquisitions. In Zambia and Uganda the existing Land Acts provide mechanisms for dispute resolution through tribunals, but they do not provide indigenous mechanisms of dispute processing on customary land or unplanned settlements in urban areas because the tribunals have no jurisdiction in these areas. Furthermore, in Zambia the Tribunal has experienced financial constraints which confined its operations to Lusaka. Although not all the policies pointed out causes of land disputes, the existing situation is one in which there are many (Cambodia attended to 4,000 disputes from 1999 to 2002) disputes which have stayed in courts of law for long time without being resolved. Tanzania gives an example of the period being as long as 20 years. The policies therefore reflect the need to ensure access to timely, efficient and affordable dispute resolution mechanisms in order to facilitate efficient land markets, tenure security and investment stability in the land sector. Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda specifically refer to the establishment of independent land dispute settlement machinery (tribunals) at all levels (local, district, etc with appeals to the Land Division of the High Court on points of law) to adjudicate land disputes. In Zambia the policy proposes to review the status and jurisdiction of the Lands Tribunal in order to enable it to address all land disputes, i.e. including disputes arising on customary land tenure. Rwanda’s policy does not mention anything on dispute resolution. 1. Kenya Land adjudication is the process of ascertaining and recording rights and interests in land claimed by individuals and other entities. Once ascertained, such rights and interests are entered into a land register, which facilitates the accuracy of the land information system and enables efficient transactions in land. There is need to ensure access to timely, efficient and affordable dispute resolution mechanisms in order to facilitate efficient land markets, tenure security and investment stability in the land sector. To facilitate efficient land markets, tenure security and investment stability in

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the land sector, the government shall: • Establish an independent, accountable and democratic system backed by

law to adjudicate land disputes at all levels. • Encourage and facilitate the use of alternative dispute resolution

mechanism such as negotiation, mediation and arbitration to reduce the number of cases that end up in the court system and delayed justice.

2. Tanzania Efficiency in land administration in the country has declined. There are many land disputes which have arisen because of multiple allocations of plots, poor records keeping, lack of or failure to follow laid down procedures in land allocations, revocations and acquisitions. As a result land has become a source of frequent disputes. Because the Ministry of Lands is involved in land delivery and as disputes in court of law are known to have remained unsettled for more than 20 years. The NLP directed government to:

• Establish an independent land dispute settlement machinery at all levels (village, district, regional and national with appeals to the High Court on points of law) to adjudicate land disputes.

3. Uganda While the Land Act provides mechanisms for dispute resolution through tribunals, it does not provide indigenous mechanisms of dispute processing or customary law as a normative framework for the processing of disputes under customary land tenure. This has created overlaps and conflict in the processing of rural land disputes. There is therefore need to restructure the disputes management system in a manner that differentiates between disputes over land held under customary tenure and those held under other tenure regimes. Hence legislative etc. measures will be taken to ensure that: • The law provides clear choice of law rules for land tribunals to enable the

simultaneous application of state and customary law depending on the circumstances, facts and characteristics of the dispute before them.

• A special division in the High Court is established to handle land disputes arising under any tenure regime to ensure the development of consistent property jurisprudence for Uganda.

4. Rwanda 5. Malawi The policy recognizes that under sections 6-19 of Cap 59:01, there is a de facto adjudication procedure currently in place used by Headpersons and Traditional Authorities. These powers will be formalized and restructured to operate through Customary Land Tribunals as defined by the NLP. The structure of the model for dispute settlement shall be as follows: • At the first instance, village level land disputes will be heard by Village Land

Tribunal (VLT) comprised of the Village Headperson and at least four elected members of the community including women.

(a) Appeals from the Village Tribunal should lie with the Group Village Tribunal (GVT) that should also serve as a tribunal of first instance for cases in which the village setting may not be appropriate. The GVT will comprise of the Group Village Head assisted by four Village Headpersons.

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(b) Traditional Authority Land Tribunal (TALT) will hear appeals from GVT. The TA Land Tribunal will be presided over by the Chief, assisted by four members of the community selected to include women. At least one member of the TALT should have legal or administrative experience.

(c) Appeals from the TA level should lie to the District Tribunal of Traditional Authorities (DTTA) at the district level. The District Tribunal will consist of all resident TAs, the District Land Registrar, and at least three other members of the District selected to avoid any prejudice and/or conflict of interest by the District Assembly, one of who should have legal experience.

(d) Any appeal from the District Tribunal of TAs should lie directly to the Central Land Settlement Board (CLSB), not the High Court. The CLSB will also rely on Chapter XI of the Penal Code for deemed judicial proceedings.

• These provisions for dispute settlement will be set out to provide legal

finality to dispute settlement by the enactment of statute to be cited as the Customary Land Dispute Settlement Act. Any unresolved disputes may be appealed to the High Court, which is the final arbiter of all disputes.

6. Cambodia Land disputes are a major problem in Cambodia. Factors causing the high incidence of land disputes include poverty, destruction of land records, public ignorance about the legal framework, widespread informal acquisitive possession of State property by all classes, economic and power imbalances in the land market, and in some cases, corrupt practices. For example, since its establishment in June 1999, the Commission has resolved land disputes for over 4,000 families. Therefore the objective of the land policy on land disputes is to prevent or resolve land disputes in a rapid and cost-efficient manner. When the new land law comes into force, the Dispute Resolution Commission will be replaced by the Cadastral Commission of the MLMUPC whose functions will be similar, but which will have more power to make decisions and more resources for investigation of disputes. As disputes may occur during land registration process, the policy will be to link systematic and sporadic registration arrangements with dispute resolution processes. Disputes occurring during registration procedure will be channeled to an ad hoc local Administrative Commission. Disputes which cannot be resolved by the Administrative Commission (for systematic registration area) or informal means, will be channeled to the Cadastral Commissions. The Cadastral Commission is established at the MLMUPC and has an obligation to decide on disputes. The final step of each land conflict resolution is a registration of land rights and issuance of title(s). 7. Swaziland Inexpensive and expeditious means of dispute resolution are to be introduced. It is National Policy that: • Land-related mechanisms be implemented to handle land related disputes

expeditiously.

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8. Zambia The Lands Tribunal, set up under the Lands Act Cap 184, is intended to provide a fast-track and low cost dispute resolution mechanism targeting the under privileged persons in society. Most such people have been unable to access Tribunal mainly due to its limited jurisdiction and capacity. Most under privileged persons are found in customary land in rural areas and in the unplanned settlements in urban areas where it has no jurisdiction. Further, the Tribunal has experienced financial constraints which confined its operations to Lusaka. The challenges in the resolution of disputes in land management and administration include: lack of mandate to arbitrate over land disputes in customary areas, lack of capacity for efficient and effective operations. Policy measures: With regard to land dispute resolution, the government will: • Review the status and jurisdiction of the Lands Tribunal in order to enable it

address all land disputes.

3.3.2 REGISTRATION OF CUSTOMARY INTERESTS IN LAND, AND VILLAGE TITLING Summary This sub theme should be read together with the sub theme on Village demarcation as there are some corresponding aspects arising, notably from the purpose of the demarcation. Rwanda’s policy is quite straightforward in stating that customary land tenure has become obsolete and does not offer any economic advantage to the tenants or the state. [Also see sub theme on village demarcation]. Some other policy statements take a much softer stance to reach the same goal by proposing/directing that villagers shall be issued with individual titles (Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia). There is no doubt that the intention of different governments is to ultimately get all customary tenures individualized (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia). Such process in Kenya started during the colonial rule and was further advanced by the post independence governments through enactment of the registered Land Act (Cap 300). The Kenya policy is correctly seeing the effect of customary tenure individualization through formal registration on the customary tenure systems. Furthermore, the policy paper goes further to reason that because smallholders grow nearly 100% of Malawi’s subsistence food crops, they virtually guarantee the country’s food security; the smallholder sector shall be guaranteed security of tenure by granting title to customary landholdings to encourage long-term improvements in agricultural productivity. In Tanzania the process of individualizing customary tenure begins with a recommendation for titling village land and giving elected village Councils the mandate to administer all village land. Kenya’s policy, though silent on individualization of customary tenure recommends an approach similar to that of Tanzania through documentation of Communal land tenures (customary or non-customary), and then registering all community rights to land followed by

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imposition of accountable, participatory procedures to transact communal land. Malawi passes the onus to implement a systematic formalization of property in customary land to the Ministry of Lands and Housing working in partnership with the private sector to ensure the process is fast and cost effective. Cambodia, like Kenya, is silent on individualization of indigenous tenure. It proposes that indigenous communities shall be granted communal ownership rights to their land. This communal ownership includes all land rights and protection of ownership as enjoyed by other private owner under law, with a sole exception that the community does not have the right to dispose of any communally owned property. Zambia poses a unique situation whereby 94% of the land is under customary tenure. Chiefdom is also quite strong. Hence, Chiefs and Headmen have a significant regulatory role of customary tenure. The government, desirous to convert customary land to State land must get the consent of the Chief. This situation has presented an encumbrance on the vestment as the President has to consult the Chief before alienation of land. The NLP encourages systematic registration of customary land areas; Introduce group land rights to allow for registration of village, family and clan land as well as cooperatives; Continue to sensitize the public on the advantages of individual ownership of land through leasehold or customary tenure to improve the security of investments by improving land transferability and access to credit; Ensure that no Chief shall recommend land for alienation without consulting his/her subjects; and Ensure and uphold that the final grant of land lies with the President in whom land is vested. Swaziland’s policy is quite silent on this sub theme. 1. Kenya The process of individualization of tenure, that is, land adjudication and/or consolidation, the eventual registration of interests in land under the registered Land Act (Cap 300) and declaration of whole districts in the pre-independence period as Government land has affected customary tenure in two material respects: • Undermining traditional resource management institutions, and • Ignoring customary land rights not deemed to amount to ownership, such as

family interests in land, the rights of “strangers” and communal rights to clan land.

In addition there has been wide abuse of trust. County Councils which are the trustees of Trust Land have in many cases disposed of Trust Land irregularly and illegally. Further, in the case of pastoral communities, the group representatives entrusted with the management of that land have in many cases disposed of group land without consulting the other members of their groups. To secure community land, the Government shall: • Document and map existing forms of communal tenure, whether customary

or non-customary, in consultation with the affected groups • Repeal the Trust Land Act (Cap 288). • Invest in capacity building for communal land governance institutions and

facilitate their operations.

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• Layout, in the Land Act, a clear framework and procedures for: a) The recognition, protection and registration of community rights to land

and land based resources taking into account multiple interests of all land users, including women.

b) Restitution of illegally acquired parts of trust land to the affected communities.

c) Governing community land transactions using participatory processes. d) Accountability and community participation in the allocation,

development and disposal of community land. e) Incorporating customary mechanism for land management and dispute

resolution. f) Setting apart of community land for public use.

2. Tanzania In order to control village land and protect it from alienation to foreign investors, the NLP states that:

• Village Councils will be given ‘Certificate of Village Land’ indicating boundaries of the village land. Village titles are not negotiable and therefore cannot be used as collaterals.

• Villagers, through their Village Assemblies, will be allowed to survey and obtain individual titles (Certificate of Village Land) within an area not designated for communal uses, land conservation or community project.

3. Uganda 4. Rwanda The NLP states that customary land tenure has become obsolete and does not offer any economic advantage to the tenants or the state. [For more see sub theme on Land Tenure Types] 5. Malawi A priority issue for the NLP is the comprehensive registration and titling of customary land interests in Malawi. Statutory recognition of customary estates will place all land on the same competitive footing as far as their collateralized values are concerned, and will further avoid any further and legal conflicts. Formalization of customary property rights: the process of demarcation, adjudication, documentation, and registration of the documents will be done. To do this the NLP states as follows: • To facilitate registration and adjudication of customary estates, Traditional

Authority jurisdictions will be used as rapid and efficient benchmarks for demarcating individual and family ownership parcels.

One of the greatest hindrances to the success of any title registry is the length of time registration requires. If the process is too lengthy or cumbersome, the land purchaser will simply not register the transaction. Likewise, if the cost of such registration is high, people will not register their parcels. In many cases, speeding up the process and reducing the number of redundant or unnecessary steps make the process more efficient and less expensive. The NLP states thus: • A systematic formalization of property in customary land will be undertaken

under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Housing.

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• The government will initiate the process through partnership with the private sector to ensure the process is rapid.

• The registration of Traditional Management Areas will be undertaken systematically and paid for by the government.

• The registration of title to customary estates shall be cost-effective. • To ensure the accuracy and reliability of land records maintained by the

registry, all customary, private and public land dispositions, whether by sale, lease, mortgage or grant will be required by law to be registered.

Formalization of traditional management areas: To ensure cultural cohesiveness, and to make titles more certain (secure) and more static, a deliberate course of action will be taken to demarcate and formally register all customary land interests of Traditional Authorities in recognition of communal land areas. Traditional leaders will retain a copy of the survey plan attesting to the land area demarcated and registered as the Land Management Area of the Traditional Authority.

The NLP intends to encourage systematic registration of customary land areas. Record keeping is presently done using standardized manual processes. Current land records are poor because:

(a) Land occupied under customary laws is not recorded or registered. (b) Statutory allocations such as National Parks, game Parks, Forest

Reserves, etc. are not registered. (c) Government allocations (e.g. land under government buildings) are not

registered. (d) Because of the slowness of cadastral surveys and the legal vetting

procedures required in the preparation of title deeds, many allocated parcels remain unregistered for many years and because of this a number of double allocations occur resulting in many land disputes. In order to control and maintain a proper and efficient register of land transactions and an efficient system of land registration capable of minimizing present problems of insecurity after allocation, the government will do the following:

• For leases granted by the government, the Ministry of Lands and Housing will ensure that the grantee gets his copy of the certificate of registered title within 180 days from the date the customer accepts the offer, i.e. by fulfilling the conditions of the letter of offer.

Because smallholders grow nearly 100% of Malawi’s subsistence food crops, they virtually guarantee the country’s food security. In recognition of the critical role of the smallholder agricultural sector to the economy, the policy will ensure that: • The smallholder sector is guaranteed security of tenure by granting title to

customary landholdings to encourage long-term improvements in agricultural productivity.

6. Cambodia Indigenous communities shall be granted communal ownership rights to their land. This communal ownership includes all land rights and protection of ownership as enjoyed by other private owner under law, with a sole exception that the community does not have the right to dispose of any communally owned property. Principles of local land use planning and expanded

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partnerships between indigenous communities, NGOs and government in managing areas in and around communal property will guide the implementation of communal titling. 7. Swaziland Zambia Customary tenure The system of land holding under customary tenure is derived from continued occupation and is administered according to local custom and therefore varies from place to place. Chiefs and Headmen have a significant regulatory role of customary tenure. The conversion of customary land to State land involves seeking the consent of the Chief. This situation has presented an encumbrance on the vestment as the President has to consult the Chief before alienation of land. Furthermore, Chiefs give land to foreign investors and the urban elite without participation of the local people. Rights derived from customary tenure are not registered and difficult to define. Private credit institutions do not recognize such rights as collateral. The challenges include: inability of customary land to qualify as collateral; Inadequate sensitization to convert customary tenure to leasehold tenure; Differences in the nature and form of customary land tenure across the country; Lack of guidelines on the role and functions of traditional authorities and local authorities in land administration; Undefined rights to land on the basis of gender and social status; and there is conflict of authority between chiefs and the President in whom land is vested in the grant of consents in the process of converting land from customary land to state land. Policy measures: In order to advance the advantages of customary tenure practice, the government will: • Introduce group land rights to allow for registration of village, family and clan

land as well as cooperatives. • Encourage landholders in peri-urban and rural areas to establish land loans

and savings associations to facilitate land and housing improvements. • Set maximum holding size to land on the basis of capability and use

suitability or technology. • Recognize the rights of land users by defining these rights through formal

survey and registration so that everyone, irrespective of social status, gender or origin can have similar rights to land.

• Ensure that non-citizens and foreign companies are not allowed to acquire land through transfer or purchase of customary rights.

• Continue to sensitize the public on the advantages of individual ownership of land through leasehold or customary tenure to improve the security of investments by improving land transferability and access to credit.

• Ensure that no Chief shall recommend land for alienation without consulting his/her subjects, and

• Ensure and uphold that the final grant of land lies with the President in whom land is vested.

9. Namibia Rural Land Allocation of customary land rights for residential and subsistence farming purposes shall be made by traditional Authorities. A Certificate of rights which is secure, inheritable by immediate family, i.e. husband/wife and natural

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children, and not limited in time will be introduced for customary uses such as residential purposes and subsistence farming. This certificate will not be mortgageable or transferable outside the limits of consanguinity.

3.3.3 DECENTRALIZATION OF LAND ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT Summary The sub theme on decentralization appears under decentralization of the functions of or connected to land registration, and land management. This sub theme has been quite popular among all the policies examined. Every policy has embraced it. The reasons for supporting decentralization of services are clearly stated as follows: The existing institutional framework for land administration and management is highly centralized, complex and exceedingly bureaucratic, corrupt and it has not been able to provide efficient services (Kenya) as the majority of people, especially the poor cannot afford the cost of securing land rights (Uganda). Therefore the policies propose that in order to have rapid, efficient, and cost effective and equitable services for all participants (Malawi and Kenya) an institution framework be created at the local level which is able to resolve all local-level land administration inefficiencies (Swaziland) – hence decentralization of services to the local authority/district level (Cambodia and Zambia). Furthermore, Kenya focuses on a decentralized land administration and management as a means of ensuring participation and accountability and facilitating access to land by the poor as a strategy to contribute to poverty reduction. Tanzania approaches this more cautiously by proposing that the government shall maintain Land Registry offices under the Ministry of Lands, but gradually decentralize the services. Malawi sets a deadline and reasons that because of the advantages of title registration for land management, it is the intention of the government to extend the title registration in a comprehensive manner to land owners in all tenure categories by the year 2020. Cambodia proposes decentralization of land management and planning authority so that land use plans should be developed in a participatory fashion, with contribution from both the residents of the planning area and technical specialists. In deed Uganda goes beyond decentralization to district level and proposes a reengineering of the land rights administration system to effect further decentralization of land rights administration functions to community land governance levels. 1. Kenya The existing institutional framework for land administration and management is highly centralized, complex and exceedingly bureaucratic. Hence it is perceived to be corrupt and it has not been able to provide efficient services. Hence the government shall overhaul the existing institutional framework to:

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• Facilitate delivery of efficient, cost effective and equitable services. • Ensure devolution of land administration and management. • Facilitate access to land by the poor so that the sector can contribute to

poverty reduction. • Ensure participation and accountability in land administration and

management. [Also see under land markets where the NLP recommends decentralization of land registries in order to improve efficiency of land markets and facilitate allocation of serviced land for investment purposes] 2. Tanzania The NLP directs government to maintain Land Registry offices under the Ministry of Lands, but gradually decentralize the services. 3. Uganda The majority of Ugandans, especially the poor, cannot afford the cost of securing land rights under any of the tenures regimes recognized by law. Land rights delivery agents alone cannot be entrusted to guarantee tenure security to the land using public. It is therefore to put in place a framework that would ensure that land rights held by all Ugandans are fully and effectively enjoyed. The establishment of such a framework will require: • Strengthening of community management structures over land held under

customary tenure. • Decentralization of land delivery services to the local authority level. • Enhancement and consolidation of civil society advocacy for the protection

of land rights security. The land rights administration system must be reengineered to effect further decentralization of land rights administration functions to community land governance levels. 4. Rwanda To decentralize services responsible for land management. 5. Malawi Pursuant to the Local Government Decentralization Act, titles to properties shall be registered in the District Land Title Registry. Such registration process shall be rapid, efficient, and cost effective for all participants. Because of the advantages of title registration for land management, it is the intention of the government to extend the title registration in a comprehensive manner to land owners in all tenure categories by the year 2020. To achieve this goal, the Ministry will pursue the following: • A systematic and accelerated compilation of the register of land ownership

shall be arranged as a comprehensive project. • The case of private land transactions (s. 24A of the Land Act) will be

retained to ensure that the government has the first opportunity to acquire any freehold estate offered for sale.

• A record of land occupied under customary tenure will be maintained at the traditional Authority Land Records Office and all land transactions registered at the corresponding District Land registry.

In an economy that is becoming increasingly capitalistic, tenure security is

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both a priority and a catalyst for achieving national economic and social goals. The need to decentralize land management functions to local authorities is seen as the appropriate level of government to record title, resolve land disputes, plan and implement improvements to the living environment of people. These changed approaches to land policy have implications for the practice and methods of surveying. It requires surveyors to explore community based approaches and adaptations to land measuring techniques. Policies and strategies dealing with surveying and mapping for geographical and cadastral purposes also deal with issues relating to the collection of land information for a purpose. Thus when a survey is being planned, the purpose for which it is intended will always be an important consideration. 6. Cambodia Registration of rights to land will be decentralized and primarily managed at the provincial/municipal level. Most land parcels are not recorded in the existing registries. The policy of the government is to embark on a two-tier program of systematic and sporadic land registration. Systematic registration, (currently being developed), involves registering every parcel within a predetermined area during a defined period of time. This is accomplished by sending a team of registration specialists and surveyors to the determined locality to gather the relevant information about owners, occupants and boundaries and enter the information into the registration system. The methods used for the systematic registration will be based on findings of pilot projects including all technical arrangements in geodesy, aerial photography, cadastral index mapping and survey, adjudication, public display, inspection, registration, data management and quality control, logistical and financial management. Systematic registration will be managed by MLMUPC. Sporadic registration refers to registration of properties at undetermined times, depending on the request of the owner or occupant. Existing procedures for sporadic registration are known to be slow and not accountable. The policy of the government is to reform the sporadic registration procedure to make it more decentralized, cheaper and faster. This will be accomplished by simplifying procedures, setting reasonable and transparent fee schedules, and providing photomaps to provincial registration offices to serve as base maps for registration. Systematic training in techniques of sporadic registration is currently provided by province with support from the governments of Germany and Finland. Lack of transparency and accountability makes many people avoid registration of their properties, weakens the legal integrity of the land administration system and makes tax collection difficult. The government will create transparency and accountability through: • Improving the budgetary conditions of the land registration offices. • Hold officials legally accountable for abuse and utilize legal penalties fully. • Educate the public, civil society and officials about land law and land

registration procedures and costs to make the fee structure transparent. • Monitor the registration officials during routine transactions.

Decentralization of land management and planning authority: Land use plans should be developed in a participatory fashion, with contribution from both the residents of the planning area and technical

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specialists. This principle is a reflection of the government’s overall policy of decentralization. Main elements of land use planning will include the elaboration of natural resource management plans covering agricultural areas, forests, water and fisheries as well as development plans for settlement, cultural heritage sites, transportation and utility infrastructure, industrial areas and tourist sites. Urban land management: Urban land management is becoming increasingly important in Cambodia as cities are rapidly expanding. One important step is specify the authority of municipalities and communes to establish land use plans, development plans, and zoning regulations, land readjustment procedures, and enforcement mechanism. A second key will be to clarify land allocation mechanisms for new urban development, including public land allocation (for transportation, public services, housing and commercial purposes), the role of the land market in new development and the requirement for land readjustment. 7. Swaziland It is National Policy that an institution framework be created at the local level which is able to resolve all local-level land administration inefficiencies. This is to be through providing a clearly defined, transparent and accountable structure of decision-making rights and responsibilities. 8. Zambia Land registration is provided for under the Lands and Deeds Registry Act Cap185. All interests in land must be registered under the Act within a prescribed time; otherwise the interests may become null and void. The registry is located in Lusaka. Challenges include: Centralized land registry is very expensive to users; Slow and tedious system of registration; Manual registration system prone to errors and abuse and not easily useful for monitoring of land market dynamics. In order to ensure decentralization in land administration government will: • Decentralize the operational structure of the Ministry of Lands up to district

level. (From access to land we have: Regulate the system of land allocation and decentralize the functions of the Commissioner of Lands up to district level.)

• Strengthen linkages within the Ministry responsible for land and other institutions which have land related functions.

• The Ministry responsible for Decentralization Policy should ensure that capacity is built in District Councils.

9. Namibia Government will develop human capacity to decentralize the land administration with placement of land officers in Regional Centres to service groups of local authorities within the Region. This will be coordinated with the establishment of Regional Land Registries (Land Registration).

3.3.4 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP Summary This sub theme has been referred to by only four policy documents (50%); Uganda expresses a strong position, while Cambodia, Kenya and Zambia

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make reference to public-private partnership while discussing other matters. Uganda proposes that some of the land administration functions will be privatized or divested to other agencies to increase efficiency. The process will be initiated through: • The creation of a semi-autonomous agency/authority to manage physical

planning, land registration, land surveys, valuation, mapping, allocation of rights and interests in government/public land, and the management of land information services.

• The privatization of limited number of land rights administration services under guidelines established by the semi-autonomous agency.

• Retention of the power of standard setting, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of performance in respect of the services in the ministry for land sector development.

The other three represented by statement from Kenya’s policy propose encouragement of public-private partnerships in the setting and administration of land information management without giving details on how this may be implemented. 1. Kenya

• Encourage public-private partnerships in the setting and administration of land information management. (For background information refer to sub theme on Land Information Management).

2. Tanzania 3. Uganda Some of the land administration functions will be privatized or divested to other agencies to increase efficiency. The process will be initiated through: • The creation of a semi-autonomous agency/authority to manage physical

planning, land registration, land surveys, valuation, mapping, allocation of rights and interests in government/public land, and the management of land information services.

• The privatization of limited number of land rights administration services under guidelines established by the semi-autonomous agency.

• Retention of the power of standard setting, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of performance in respect of the services in the ministry for land sector development.

4. Rwanda 5. Malawi 6. Cambodia [see under sub theme “Institutional Framework”] 7. Swaziland 8. Zambia [see under sub theme “Institutional Framework”]

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3.4 SURVEYS AND MAPPING Summary This sub theme has been discussed under two titles, namely “Surveys and Mapping”, and “Surveys and Geo-information”. Where geo-information has been used, it refers to mapping. This sub theme should be read together with the sub theme on “Capacity Building” as therein are issues relevant to this sub theme. Keywords under this sub theme include: delays, high cost, cumbersome procedures, shortage/lack of surveyors, outdated maps, training. The problems make a tall list: The processes of surveying and mapping have been hampered by slow, cumbersome, outdated modes of operation; cadastral surveys that are expensive, centralized (Kenya); Acute shortage of surveyors in rapidly growing urban areas and topographic maps that are out of date (Tanzania); Shortage of qualified personnel, administrative bottlenecks in the approval of plans, and prohibitive private survey costs (Uganda); Existing plans and maps are old and out of date. Lack of large scale plans and maps (Rwanda); Survey department lacks the staff capacity to cope with the workload of cadastral surveying. Long delays in the process between the times a survey request is lodged to final approval of a survey (Malawi); inadequacy in human and institutional capacity of the survey and geo-information resource. Lack of unified, consistent spatial geodetic reference frame thus making surveys and geo-information activities more costly. Lack of resources that make the government fail to facilitate the surveying, geo-information activities, topographic, hydrographic and engineering surveys. Lack of qualified surveyors. Lack of revised maps; lack of equipment for production and printing of maps; and inadequate human resource capacity (Zambia). Based on these problems, the NLPs propose remedial actions as follows: • Kenya proposes: (a) for use of modern technology such as GPS, GIS and

streamline survey authentication procedures, (b) Improve mapping standards in general boundary areas so that they fit into a computerized system.

• Tanzania recommends: (a) Undertake all control surveys, (b) Encourage government certified private land surveyors to play a bigger role in the execution of cadastral surveys. (c) Concentrate on the preparation of basic maps e.g. topographic maps at the scale of 1:50,000 and 1:2,500, etc. preparation of other map types (e.g. tourist maps) will be left to the private sector.

• Uganda suggests: (a) Amendment of existing laws to eliminate the need for expensive cadastral maps and deed plans, (b) Adopt simple demarcation and general (not fixed) boundary making procedures in respect of all tenure categories, (c) Privatize topographical, geodetic, hydrographic and triangulation mapping, subject to strict standard-setting and public regulation, (d) Set and enforce clear, achievable standards for the preparation of maps and registry plans by public and private agencies.

• Rwanda proposes: (a) All centres considered as urban centres should have land use master plans, (b) To computerize the existing data. Existing maps and plans should be digitized, (c) Strengthen and train the staff responsible

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for the elaboration and execution of programmes and plans. • Malawi recommends: (a) surveyors are required to explore community

based approaches and adaptations of spatial information technologies in the practice and standards required for registration, (b) Acquire modern survey equipment, such as GPS, should be made so that survey services can be done quickly (c) Allow for public and customary land to be performed under contract by private surveyors to alleviate the shortage of government surveyors, (d) Undertake mass survey of the land and to meet current and expected future increases in demand for land surveys, (e) Develop survey training and certification facilities to accelerate the pace at which surveyors are trained and certified in Malawi, (f) Contract private surveyors to prepare registration section maps, parcel and cadastral plans and to obtain layouts from the Physical Planning Department in the case of urban and town plots (g) Government to concentrate on the preparation of basic maps such as topographical maps of the scale 1:50,000, 1:25,000, etc. and preparation of other types of maps such as tourist maps, special areas maps, etc. will be left to the private sector and other organizations, operating in accordance with established laws and regulations.

• Zambia proposes: (a) Build human resource capacity through modular competence based training and support short term courses, (b) Procure modern production and printing equipment.

Cambodia and Swaziland do not mention anything on this sub theme.

1. Kenya The processes of surveying and mapping have been hampered by slow, cumbersome and outdated modes of operation. Hence the government shall:

• Amend the Survey Act to allow for use of modern technology such as GPS, GIS and streamline survey authentication procedures.

• Establish a unitary, homogeneous network of control points of adequate density using GPS.

• Improve mapping standards in general boundary areas so that they fit into a computerized system.

Cadastral surveys are expensive, centralized, slow and cumbersome procedures. 2. Tanzania At present, cadastral surveys are mainly done by government surveyors. The private surveyors are involved to a very small extent as they lack physical and financial resources. Hence the shortage of surveyors is acute in the rapidly growing urban areas. In order to survey the land to meet the ever increasing demand the government will:

• Undertake all control surveys. • Encourage government certified private land surveyors to play a bigger role

in the execution of cadastral surveys. • Supervise, check and approve all cadastral surveys in accordance with the

laid down laws and regulations. • Devise a mechanism that will ensure that all survey costs are met by the

beneficiaries, and establish cross subsidization for schemes meant to benefit the low-income families.

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Mapping The government is at present involved in the preparation and revision of all types of maps most of which are out of date. In order to meet the increased demand for maps the government shall: • Concentrate on the preparation of basic maps e.g. topographic maps at the

scale of 1:50,000 and 1:2,500, etc. preparation of other map types (e.g. tourist maps) will be left to the private sector.

3. Uganda Land demarcation, survey and mapping are functions which are integral to an efficient land delivery system under any tenure. These functions support the planning process in general, and the registry system, in particular, by supplying accurate information on parcel characteristics, sizes, boundaries and servitudes. The process of these functions has been impeded by inter alia, shortage of qualified personnel, administrative bottlenecks in the approval of plans, and prohibitive private survey costs. The situation will be improved through: • Amendment of existing laws to eliminate the need for expensive cadastral

maps and deed plans. • The adoption of simple demarcation and general (not fixed) boundary

making procedures in respect of all tenure categories. • The privatization of topographical, geodetic, hydrographic and triangulation

mapping, subject to strict standard-setting and public regulation. • The recognition and conferment of official status to community based

boundary-making systems for land held under customary tenure, and • Setting and enforcing clear, achievable standards for the preparation of

maps and registry plans by public and private agencies. 4. Rwanda Role of cadastral plans and maps in land management Topographical surveys are the principal means by which to ascertain the availability and extent of land resources. Plans and maps constitute the best basis for an accurate inventory of natural resources. Whereas photographs suffer from distortions, plans/maps use conventional signs, contour lines and other formulas to illustrate significant details with greater simplicity and clarity than a photograph. Despite their importance, several existing plans and maps are old and out of date. Registration and administration of land rights suffer because there are no large scale plans and maps for identification, demarcation of plots, inventorying of land resources such as water resources and vegetation which are essential for planned agricultural development, administration and development of fisheries in rivers and lakes, etc. Maps are also required for planning of towns, national defence, recreation air transport, tourism, education, commerce, industry, etc. Plans and master plans in land planning and land management All approved and non-approved town planning master plans have expired and need to be updated so as to reflect the current situation. Urbanization is faced with two major obstacles, namely: • Insufficient planning tools. • People’s ignorance of the existence of development schemes and plans. Based on the foregoing, the necessary policy statements include: • Urban master plans and layouts are an institutional framework for the

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formulation of various development plans. All centres considered as urban centres should have land use master plans.

• Errors from previous land occupation should be rectified through permanent and wide use of plans.

Strategic options for this include: • To formulate a master plan for land allocation and land use, as well as

regional and national land use plans. • To inform the population of the existence of the master plan. Explanation is

necessary to ensure observance of the established spatial organization. • To computerize the existing data. Existing maps and plans should be

digitized. • To strengthen and train the staff responsible for the elaboration and

execution of programmes and plans. Maps in land management Aerial photographs covering the whole country at scales 1:50,000 (1974), 1:2000 (1978 and 1982. All urban centres are covered by photographs at 1:10,000 taken between 1978 and 1982. The whole country is covered by 43 topographic maps at the scale of 1:50,000. Digitized data of these maps exists. Other maps include soil capability map at 1:250,000 and a capacity thematic map of level terraces at the scale of 1:250,000, a land use map at scale of 1:100,000 which was produced from photo-interpretation of satellite images, and resettlement sites maps produced in 1998 and 1999. Based on this and accepting as a policy that maps represent essential foundation on which to base any planning of land management, the following strategic options are made: • The National Land and Geographical Information Centre will be a

permanent and multidisciplinary structure with responsibility to provide services and expertise in the field of cartography, land development and land use, hydrology, climatology, pedology and management of natural resources as well as monitoring and evaluation of environment. It will also be the centre for the collection, storage and processing of land related databases and national land registry.

5. Malawi Surveying in Malawi is done by the scientific method known as triangulation. By this approach precise distance and angular measurements are used to fix the boundaries from which a map, parcel plan or site plan showing the precise location of the land can be produced. It is a statutory requirement that land be surveyed to this level of precision before the government will undertake to guarantee property title through the Torrens System of title registration. The current procedure for demarcation and survey creates an administrative bottleneck in three areas: (i) Sketch plans for agricultural lease are not subject to examination but are treated as survey requests. But, the level of precision required and the cost it entails is far greater than most situations in Malawi demand. (ii) The survey department lacks the staff capacity to cope with the workload of cadastral surveying (of plots and farms) required to be performed mainly by government surveyors; (iii) the process causes long delays between the time a survey request from the Ministry is submitted to final approval by the Surveyor General. The NLP states that to reform the survey requirement to

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accommodate the growing demand in the country, the following action will be undertaken: • The Land Act will be reviewed and amended in the relevant sections to

reflect the new approaches to land policy. It requires surveyors to explore community based approaches and adaptations of spatial information technologies in the practice and standards required for registration.

• Acquisition of modern survey equipment, such as GPS, should be made so that survey services can be done quickly.

• A policy to modify survey requirements to allow for public and customary land to be performed under contract by private surveyors will be expanded to alleviate the shortage of government surveyors.

• To support reforms to register all customary estates, programs for training surveyors and survey assistants, planners and land valuation officers will be instituted as a matter of urgency.

• The government will, in order to undertake any mass survey of the land and to meet current and expected future increases in demand for land surveys, develop survey training and certification facilities to accelerate the pace at which surveyors are trained and certified in Malawi.

Verification of accuracy of titling plans The Ministry of Lands and Housing does not have the physical capacity to verify the scientific accuracy of parcel plans submitted with applications for title as required. The Land Department of the Ministry is required by law to send all maps and parcel plans to the Surveyor General Department in Blantyre for authentication. This sometimes causes a delay of six to nine months. Moreover the section does not have all index maps and section plans necessary for title registration and therefore cannot identify the spatial locations of some parcels before accepting the document for registration. The NLP states: • The Survey Department will be encouraged to contract private surveyors to

prepare registration section maps, parcel and cadastral plans and to obtain layouts from the Physical Planning Department in the case of urban and town plots.

Mapping The government is responsible for all basic and control surveys (topographic, geodetic, hydrographic, triangulation) necessary for the preparation of all types of maps. It is also involved in the revision of these maps. Given the high cost of map making and revisions and the limited resources at the disposal of the government, the government will support the development of Malawi’s digital mapping capability for implementing the objectives set out in this policy along the following lines: • In order to meet the increased demand for maps, the government will

concentrate on the preparation of basic maps such as topographical maps of the scale 1:50,000, 1:25,000, etc. Special projects will be developed for producing cadastral and parcel plans needed for mass registration and other development programs.

• Preparation of other types of maps such as tourist maps, special areas maps, etc. will be left to the private sector and other organizations, operating in accordance with established laws and regulations.

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6. Cambodia [see under sub theme on “Capacity Building] 7. Swaziland [Although the draft policy document makes reference to survey functions here and there, “Surveys and Mapping” has not been treated as a theme in the document]. 8. Zambia Surveys and geo-information services are provided for under Cap 188 of the laws of Zambia. Surveys: Cadastral surveys are carried out by public institutions and private practitioners. However, the inadequacy in human and institutional capacity of the survey and geo-information resource base has over the years impacted negatively on service delivery. As a result there are a number of illegal surveys being undertaken by unauthorized surveyors thereby contributing to unreliable data in the cadastral property register. This has also been worsened by lack of human capacity to conduct survey inspections. Currently there is no unified, consistent spatial geodetic reference frame. This makes surveys and geo-information activities more costly. Because of lack of resources, government is unable to facilitate the surveying, geo-information activities, topographic, hydrographic and engineering surveys. Challenges relating to survey are: Lack of up to date, accurate and reliable survey data; Costly, inaccessible and limited survey services particularly for people in rural areas; Outdated survey laws and standards that have adversely affected service delivery; Lack of qualified surveyors to undertake the verification of survey work; Inadequate availability of modern survey equipment; and lack of enforcement of stringent measures to curb current fraudulent and sub-standard surveys conducted by unauthorized surveyors. Policy measures: In order to address challenges related to survey, government will: • Build human resource capacity through modular competence based training

and support short term courses. • Decentralize survey services and prorate the charging of survey fees. • Support procurement of modern survey equipment. • Improve the funding levels to the Ministry responsible for land. • Strengthen institutions offering training in surveying.

Geo-information: Geo-information involves the development of technical standards and the production and public delivery of topographic and thematic maps and map databases. For some time various maps have not been up-dated except for those maps that Donors have funded. As a result there is a backlog of unrevised maps. At the moment there is a public concern that geo-information services are not affordable and readily accessible to the general public particularly to those people in rural areas. The challenges relating to geo-informatics include: Lack of revised maps; Lack of equipment for production and printing of maps; and inadequate human resource capacity. Policy measures: In order to address issues related to geo-information government will: • Procure modern production and printing equipment.

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9. Namibia Urban Land Survey and mapping is the bedrock of all developments and main contrivance for locating, recording and managing natural and other resources. Government will therefore build up local capabilities and capacities in survey and mapping to be able to: • Develop the competence to record in detail, with maps and coordinates,

Namibia’s natural resources and infrastructure. • Establish and densify geodetic control points throughout the country. • Produce and revise topographic maps of the country. • Execute cadastral surveys in support of proclamation of towns and property

registration. • Provide geospatial information in support of socio-economic planning and

development. • Acquire and establish the necessary tools and capacity to adjudicate over

and justly distribute, land with secure tenure rights, to its owners.

3.4.1 VILLAGE DEMARCATION Summary In this sub section “village demarcation” has also been referred to as “reorganization of human settlements in rural areas”. Other phrases which have been used in the documents are “group settlements in the rural areas.” Kenya, Uganda and Zambia do not seem to have taken village demarcation as a separate issue for consideration. The purpose of the proposals to undertake village demarcation or to demarcate traditional and individual customary land is clearly outlined by Tanzania and Malawi as the need to protect villagers’ land rights and promote better and sustainable use of the natural resources within villages (Tanzania), and to reduce land disputes and further eliminate impediments to individuals who need to invest to improve their land assets (Malawi). A map showing traditional land boundaries will assist traditional leaders in land-use planning and land policy administration (Malawi). Spatial definition of national, provincial, municipal, district, commune and village areas creates physical jurisdictions for the supply of services and infrastructure, revenue collection, electoral procedures, and judicial competence (Cambodia). In Swaziland there have been an increasing number of boundary disputes between Chiefs, which have already resulted in violence, including loss of life. The policy documents for Malawi and Tanzania provide for the participatory preparation of village land use plans. In Malawi the land use planning in rural areas will be monitored and enforced by district planning offices following decentralization. Until such time, villagers will be sensitized through civic education on collective responsibility for land use planning, environmental monitoring and enforcement of land use policies. To implement village land demarcation, the policy mandates the government of Tanzania to provide guidance and support to speed up the process. In Cambodia and Malawi the policy documents mandate the government,

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through the Ministries of Lands, to demarcate administrative boundaries of villages, communes and districts and provinces as the case may be. In Swaziland a special Commission would do the task. Rwanda’s policy requires selection of sites for group settlements to be easily accessible and with facilities such as water, electricity and free land. Risky and forest areas are to be avoided. Master plans will be prepared for land allocation and land use. The master plans will determine the boundaries between agricultural land and appropriate settlement sites. The policy paper goes on to specify that: • District mayors, (on recommendation of land commissions under their

authority), should agree on a new cadastre that prevents viable plots. • The minimum surface area of a homestead property should be fixed at 1

hectare for it to be economically profitable. • A district cadastral service will be introduced in order to register all the plots

and ensure that they retain their undivided character. • All decisions concerning the establishment of a grouped settlement site will

be taken by the grassroots authorities in consultation with the target population.

The implementation procedure in Malawi is as follows: • Individuals should be allowed to commission a survey and prepare

deed/cadastral plans of their customary estates to facilitate registration of individual titles.

• Chiefs and Village Heads, through their Village Land Committees will be allowed to demarcate common access or public lands (e.g. areas for forestation, communal grazing land, block or cooperative farming, etc.) and have such lands registered as public lands to protect them against degradation and encroachment.

1. Kenya 2. Tanzania In order to protect villagers’ land rights and promote better and sustainable use of the natural resources within villages, the government will continue to provide guidance on village boundary demarcation. To speed up the process of village boundary demarcation, the method of General Boundaries (as well as fixed boundaries where appropriate) will be used. Village land use plans, prepared developed by district councils in collaboration with village councils, will be simplified for speedy execution. 3. Uganda 4. Rwanda On 13/12/1996, the Government of National Unity adopted a new human settlement policy which advocates grouped settlement in the rural areas. Traditionally, grouped settlements have been excessively scattered. This situation gives rise to poor management of the land, which is illustrated by the fragmentation of arable land. It is also an obstacle to the improvement of the living conditions of the peasants since it is difficult to provide them with the

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infrastructure required for their development (water, electricity, means of communication, schools, hospitals, etc.). The government has always considered grouped settlements as a solution to: (a) the problem of population pressure, (b) poor management of land and (c) the impoverishment of the rural masses. The construction of houses around centres of grouped settlements, has contributed in highlighting the urban aspect of these agglomerations. Hence the policy statement directs that grouped settlement sites should: • Show good physical features. • Be easily accessible through communication, and • Have facilities such as water and electricity and free land.

Hence the strategic options to observe include: • Provincial and district land commissioners are to ensure effective

implementation of the grouped settlement policy. • The choice of sites should avoid risk areas and zones of environmental

importance such as wooded areas, marshlands, deeps and areas with steep slopes.

• The popularization of elementary techniques of physical planning of grouped settlements should be introduced.

• The master plan for land allocation and land use will determine the boundaries between agricultural land and appropriate settlement sites.

Under the scattered pattern of settlements, fields are arranged on hills in scattered plots. This makes farming difficult and non-profitable. This parceling is a result of the existing inheritance system. The policy statement is: • District mayors, (on recommendation of land commissions under their

authority), should agree on a new cadastre that prevents viable plots. • The minimum surface area of a homestead property should be fixed at 1

hectare for it to be economically profitable. These policy statements shall observe the following strategic options: • The choice of settlement sites shall exclude wooded areas. • Family farming of a cooperative type will be introduced in order to avoid

continued land subdivision. • A district cadastral service will be introduced in order to register all the plots

and ensure that they retain their undivided character. • All decisions concerning the establishment of a grouped settlement site will

be taken by the grassroots authorities in consultation with the target population.

5. Malawi Customary land demarcation Village land survey and titling necessitate the physical demarcation of boundaries. This exercise often increases people’s awareness of the value of land and the implications of those boundaries on resource use. In some areas, this has resulted into boundary disputes. The NLP states: • In order to protect the villagers’ land rights and promote better and

sustainable use of the natural resources within villages, the government will undertake Traditional Authority boundary demarcation as a necessary public policy requirement.

• The survey plan showing each Traditional Land Management area shall be registered by the Commissioner for Lands and used to verify the legitimacy of all land transactions occurring on land belonging to any Traditional

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Authority. A clear demarcation of traditional lands and individual customary estates will reduce land disputes and further eliminate impediments to individuals who need to invest to improve their land assets. A map showing traditional land boundaries will assist traditional leaders in land-use planning and land policy administration. Customary estate holders will be encouraged to retain a survey plan showing the boundaries of their land and given the opportunity to register their interest. The NLP then states: • Individuals should be allowed to commission a survey and prepare

deed/cadastral plans of their customary estates to facilitate registration of individual titles.

• Chiefs and Village Heads, through their Village Land Committees will be allowed to demarcate common access or public lands (e.g. areas for forestation, communal grazing land, block or cooperative farming, etc.) and have such lands registered as public lands to protect them against degradation and encroachment.

Updating of cartographic capabilities in the Survey Department will be given priority because the new policy with regard to the customary tenure sector cannot be achieved if there are delays in the generation of parcel and cadastral plans. Hence: • To improve the speed without compromising the quality of cadastral plans

used for title registration and issuing of leases, the Survey Act will be amended to empower the District Surveyor to certify and approve deed plans to be registered in the Land Registry.

• To improve the speed and quality of deed and sketch plans required for registration purposes, the use of modern technology will be encouraged.

Most rural populations view formal planning and the enforcement of physical planning requirements with some apprehension. To remove such fear and to assure rural community input at all stages of the planning process, the following principles will be employed: • Land use planning will be done as a dual process in which the community

participates fully by offering local knowledge of their environment and existing land use patterns.

Rural land use planning will involve multi-disciplinary teams of experts in spatial planning, soil management, crop and animal husbandry, forestry and others and should provide a basis for guiding extension services including land management techniques. Currently land use planning in rural areas is being monitored from the centre through the Department of Physical Planning in the Ministry of Lands and Housing. This is problematic as there are not enough planners at the centre to provide advice for the whole of Malawi. Malawi’s decentralization policy calls for the establishment of a planning office at the district level that will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing land use planning and policies. To support this program: • The existing rural land use planning and development capacity will be

reassessed and where necessary redefined to promote local participation in land use decision making.

Villagers will be sensitized through civic education on collective responsibility

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for land use planning, environmental monitoring and enforcement of land use policies. 6. Cambodia Administrative boundaries are necessary for efficient government. Spatial definition of national, provincial, municipal, district, commune and village areas creates physical jurisdictions for the supply of services and infrastructure, revenue collection, electoral procedures, and judicial competence. The policy of the government is that MLMUPC will demarcate administrative boundaries of villages, communes and districts and provinces. 7. Swaziland There have been an increasing number of boundary disputes between Chiefs, which have already resulted in violence, including loss of life. These are constraints upon development. It is National Policy that: • Chief’s boundaries and jurisdictions be clearly demarcated, cadastralized

and rationalized by a gazetted commission. 8. Zambia

3.4.2 INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY DEMARCATION 5. Malawi The international boundary between Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique has not been fixed to the complete satisfaction of all parties concerned. As a result, there has been encroachment on land in Malawi by nationals from Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique. Accordingly the NLP states as follows: • Serious effort will be made to complete the establishment of the

international boundary between Malawi and her said neighbours. The boundary should be permanently demarcated, surveyed and clearly fixed in all sections as a matter of national security.

3.5 LAND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Summary All the policies appreciate that implementation of the land policy framework is critically dependent on accurate information about land: its location, size, shape, ownership, use, annual rent payable, natural characteristics and relationship to nearby activities. The policies indicate that land information held is either out of date (Kenya, ) or is scanty and scattered (Cambodia, Tanzania and Zambia); and is held in paper form as well as manually operated (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Cambodia and Zambia). All policy papers recommend change from the current manual systems of data handling to computerization of the land records. Kenya further proposes: • Establishment of national guidelines on land information to govern

standards, security, dissemination and pricing. • Enact a land information law to facilitate access to and management of land

information. • Encourage public-private partnerships in the setting and administration of

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land information management. • Establish a National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

Uganda’s approach is to: • Procure the technological infrastructure needed for the establishment of a

decentralized system. • Prepare and implement national guidelines to improve the quality and

quantity of land information. • Amend existing laws to allow for the use of modern technology such as GPS

and GIS.

Malawi further proposes to: • Inventory comprehensive and scientific geographic information to create a

multiple access Land Information System. The Ministry of Lands shall coordinate the creation and maintenance of the National Land Information Management System which shall be built to relate all land information to the same geodetic and cadastral reference codes to sanction and protect public and private property. It will also coordinate the establishment of the Malawi Geo-data Coordinating Committee composed of senior representatives from all land sector ministries and under the direction of the Surveyor General.

Zambia proposes as follows: To improve land information and management the government shall: • Ensure that development and management of land information system is

adequately funded. • Improve public access to reliable land information. Develop an efficient and

effective infrastructure for land information management at National, Provincial, and District levels.

• Create an accurate database and improve dissemination of information to public.

Rwanda and Swaziland policies are silent on this sub theme. 1. Kenya Kenya lacks up to date land information system (on different uses such as agriculture, forestry, wildlife, water, infrastructure, etc.) necessary for decision making in land administration and management. Land information is currently held mostly in paper form and managed manually. This is inefficient, time consuming and cannot support timely decision making about land. Hence the government shall:

• Establish national guidelines on land information to govern standards, security, dissemination and pricing.

• Enact a land information law to facilitate access to and management of land information.

• Encourage public-private partnerships in the setting and administration of land information management.

• Establish a National Spatial Data Infrastructure. 2. Tanzania Although accurate and complete database on land is essential for proper and efficient land management, at present information and data on the following aspects is scanty and scattered:

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• Locations of various land parcels. • Size or acreage and shape of the parcels. • Names and addresses of the occupiers. • Use of the parcels. • Annual rents of the parcels, and • Dates when such rents are due for payment or review.

The volume of data has also substantially increased, thus making it difficult to be handled by the existing manual system. Hence the government shall:

• Computerize the land records. • Train the needed staff to be able to handle the new technology.

3. Uganda An important function of the land rights administration system is to ensure that accurate cadastral information is available on land sizes, location, proprietary characteristics, values and quality. Currently land information is mostly held in paper form, manually managed and not optimally utilized. Technological infrastructure (including equipment) that would guarantee access to accurate land information is needed. Necessary measures needed will include: • The procurement of the technological infrastructure needed for the

establishment of a decentralized system. • The preparation and implementation of national guidelines to improve the

quality and quantity of land information. • Amendment of existing laws to allow for the use of modern technology such

as GPS and GIS. 4. Rwanda 5. Malawi The planning process relies on information to give support to land management strategies. Similarly, information on engineering and utility structures such as the location of water, telecommunication and sewage pipelines is essential for infrastructure. Cadastral information and maps provide information on specific land rights and responsibilities, and can be linked to demographic and socio-economic information for planning purposes. Therefore an accurate and complete database on land is essential for effective land management in Malawi. As the volume of land information will increase exponentially with increase in urbanization, it is impossible to handle land records by the existing manual systems. Hence: • The government will develop accurate and computerized land information

management system with current land technology for land records storage and management.

• The staff currently employed and others to be employed will be trained in the essential skills for operating and managing the new computerized land registration technology.

• A comprehensive and scientific inventory of geographic information will be compiled and stored to create a multiple access Land Information System.

• The Ministry of Lands shall coordinate the creation and maintenance of a National Land Information Management System which shall be built to relate all land information to the same geodetic and cadastral reference codes to sanction and protect public and private property.

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• The Ministry shall also coordinate the establishment of the Malawi Geo-data Coordinating Committee composed of senior representatives from all land sector ministries and under the direction of the Surveyor General.

Use of modern technology Survey data captured by aerial photography or by GPS receivers provides some of the most cost effective ways of managing land information from traditional settlements and small holder farming areas. A simpler LIS framework designed to allow gradual automation of manual procedures will be used within a participatory framework conducive to meeting the land administration needs of District Land Registries. Thus the NLP states: • Malawi will move towards a unifying land registration system able to

accommodate the three principal land tenure systems, Private land including registered customary estates, Public land and Government land by accepting the general application of GPS survey standards for title registration purposes.

6. Cambodia Implementation of the land policy framework is critically dependent on information about land: its ownership, use, natural characteristics and relationship to nearby activities. Much of this information exists in various dispersed forms in Cambodia. The land information policy is that land information should be available to the public and shared across agencies. A task force on GIS has been created by the MLMUPC and is working on creating indexes of available land information and standards of interoperability for land information. Policies on access to registration information, however, are not yet clear, and principles of pricing of land information products created by public institutions for private use have yet to be articulated. 7. Swaziland 8. Zambia Land Information necessary for land administration and management is scanty and scattered. At present land information is not adequate and reliable because land use planning and zoning are not guiding land allocation and registration. Survey and mapping information sometimes comes after allocation instead of providing the basis for allocation and subsequent registration. The problem is lack of land information that is causing out datedness of land use plans and lack of compliance to land use guidelines by authorizing units. The government has been operating an analogue/digital land information management system (LIMS) to administer and manage land. An effort to migrate to a modern fully digital system that is able to meet the demands of users has proved difficult due to capacity constraints which include low funding, low investment, skills and low technology. The challenges are: General lack of information on land; Limited public access to Land Information; and Ineffective Land Information and Management System (LIMS). Policy measures: To Improve land information and management, the government will: • Ensure that development and management of land information system is

adequately funded. • Improve public access to reliable land information. Develop an efficient and

effective infrastructure for land information management at National,

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Provincial, and District levels. • Create an accurate database and improve dissemination of information to

public.

3.6 3.6.1

URBAN AND RURAL LAND USE PLANNING (SPATIAL PLANNING) EFFECTIVE PLANNING FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT Summary Two terminologies are in use, namely: “Urban and Rural planning” and “Spatial Planning”. “Urban agriculture” is referred to in only two policies, namely, the policy of Kenya and that of Tanzania. Rwanda, Cambodia and Swaziland have not discussed this sub theme separately. Malawi discusses it in general terms only while Kenya refers to it in respect of urban agriculture. Planning relates to all human activities and may be directed to reconcile the social and economic aims of private and public objectives. It is the allocation of land resources in such a manner as to obtain maximum effective use. When development occurs in an isolated, haphazard fashion outside a formal planning and development structure, many issues of social or physical design nature too often remain unresolved or allow only short-term solutions that work to the ultimate detriment of the total environment (Malawi). While Tanzania proposes to discard the use of Master Plans in urban development, Rwanda and Uganda propose to use Master Plans for setting out broad land use expectations, strategies for the management of rural-urban population migration, and the development of physical infrastructure for the guidance of implementation planning authorities. Tanzania instead proposes adoption of strategic urban planning that out-sources local community participatory approach. Although not a function of towns, when properly organized, urban agriculture has the potential to provide employment, income, and is a supplementary source of food supply. The policy statements of Tanzania and Kenya encourage regulated urban agriculture in a way that it does not disrupt planned urban development. Rwanda proposes to define a coherent urban framework for development and elaborate or update town master plans through strategic options that include: • Raising public awareness of urban master plans to enable the public to

understand the justification of space allocation for various activities. • Town planning should restructure/recognize and rehabilitate areas with

disorganized constructions by legalizing the land ownership status of the residents, and by reorganizing their lifestyle by establishing traffic routes, water supply systems, electrical networks and other basic services.

In Zambia, the policy reports that there has been a considerable decline in land use planning over the years due to constrained resources allocated to this function resulting in sporadic and unplanned development and use. Approved

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land use plans are often not followed up with land development services. Challenges include: Lack of up to date national land use plan; Inadequate planning and enforcement of land use planning controls and restrictions by local authorities; Lack of coordinated approaches to land use planning; and Lack of compliance by land users. To address these limitations, the policy directs government to: • Develop and implement spatial planning system that meets needs of urban

and rural environments, and to ensure compliance by land developers and users.

• Ensure that all land for human settlements, agriculture, industry and commerce and other uses is planned, surveyed and serviced before it is allocated.

Concerning common properties in urban areas such as open spaces for recreation, public utilities, sites for schools, and other community facilities, it’s only the policy document of Malawi that has set out how such areas are to be treated. The policy document states that • Public open spaces, all of Lake Malawi and other sites for public uses are

surveyed and registered as public land. • All sites for public activities in towns shall be registered to appropriate

authorities including local Community Based Organizations, NGOs and others who will be required to develop and maintain these sites in accordance with the intended public use.

• Protective measures shall be taken to protect environmentally fragile or hazardous areas not suitable for normal forms of development and which require conservation.

1. Kenya The NLP requires putting in place a properly regulated and facilitated framework for carrying out of urban agriculture and forestry. 2. Tanzania As Master plans for urban development are too inflexible to be able to cope with the rapid urbanization, the government shall adopt less costly methods to prepare and execute urban plans including: • Adoption of strategic urban planning that out-sources local community

participatory approach. • Preparation of detailed land use plans for land development.

Although not a function of towns, when properly organized, urban agriculture has the potential to provide employment, income, and is a supplementary source of food supply. The government will continue to to regulate the conduct of urban agriculture in a way that it does not disrupt planned urban development. 3. Uganda The primary instruments for physical development planning in Uganda are the Town and Country Planning Act (Cap 246) and the Local Government Act (Cap 234). These instruments have failed to provide adequate guidelines for framework planning at the national or regional levels and little guidance in rural areas. Measures to facilitate the review and strengthening of the physical development and control function will therefore be put in place. These will

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include: • The divestiture of the provision of physical development planning services. • The preparation of a medium to long term framework for a physical

development master plan for Uganda, setting out broad land use expectations, strategies for the management of rural-urban population migration, and the development of physical infrastructure for the guidance of implementation planning authorities.

• Facilitation of constant revision of implementation plans for urban areas. • The monitoring of the growth of rural settlements with the view to providing

infrastructure services. • Strict enforcement of development controls in urban and peri-urban areas. • The review of all legislations in tandem with these measures.

4. Rwanda Urban planning in Rwanda has for a long time adopted the institutional form of the technique of public allotment and urban physical planning. In the new NLP a coherent urban framework will be defined and development and town planning master plans elaborated or updated through strategic options that include: • Raising public awareness of urban master plans to enable the public to

understand the justification of space allocation for various activities. • Town planning should restructure/recognize and rehabilitate areas with

disorganized constructions by legalizing the land ownership status of the residents, and by reorganizing their lifestyle by establishing traffic routes, water supply systems, electrical networks and other basic services.

5. Malawi Planning relates to all human activities and may be directed to reconcile the social and economic aims of private and public objectives. It is the allocation of land resources in such a manner as to obtain maximum effective use, and at the same time pay attention to the built environment and the welfare of the community. Planning therefore anticipates change, intervenes between the economic, social, political and physical factors that determine the location, form and the resulting outcome of development. When development occurs in an isolated, haphazard fashion outside a formal planning and development structure, many issues of social or physical design nature too often remain unresolved or allow only short-term solutions that work to the ultimate detriment of the total environment. Sites set aside in urban areas for public activities, including open spaces for recreation, public utilities, sites for schools, and other community facilities, are often abused or invaded by private developers to the disadvantage of the general public. The government will ensure that: • Public open spaces, all of Lake Malawi and other sites for public uses are

surveyed and registered as public land. • All sites for public activities in towns shall be registered to appropriate

authorities including local Community Based Organizations, NGOs and others who will be required to develop and maintain these sites in accordance with the intended public use.

• Protective measures shall be taken to protect environmentally fragile or

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hazardous areas not suitable for normal forms of development and which require conservation.

6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland While recognizing that urban expansion is inevitable and even desirable, it is also true that Swaziland’s arable land is scarce. It is National Policy that: • Good agricultural land be protected from encroachment from other uses.

8. Zambia There has been a considerable decline in Land Use Planning over the years due to constrained resources allocated to this function resulting in sporadic and unplanned development and use. Approved land use plans are often not followed up with land development services. Challenges include: Lack of up to date national land use plan; Inadequate planning and enforcement of land use planning controls and restrictions by local authorities; Lack of coordinated approaches to land use planning; and Lack of compliance by land users. Policy measures: In order to address problems related to land use planning the government will: • Prepare and maintain comprehensive district, regional and national land use

plans and an atlas that zones broad sections of the country to broad land uses according to planning criteria publicly agreed among all stakeholders.

• Develop and implement spatial planning system that meets needs of urban and rural environments.

• Ensure compliance by land developers and users. • Ensure that all land for human settlements, agriculture, industry and

commerce and other uses is planned, surveyed and serviced before it is allocated.

9. Namibia Urban Land The NLP recommends that every effort will be taken to retain and accommodate urban agriculture, only removing them when the subject land is physically required and after paying compensation to lawful occupiers. Likewise, backyard gardening for nutritional purposes shall be encouraged.

3.6.2 URBAN AND PERI-URBAN LAND USE PLANNING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERMEDIATE SETTLEMENTS Summary This part combines two sub themes, namely; “urban and peri-urban land use planning” and “Development of intermediate settlements”. The latter sub theme has been addressed in the policy documents of only Tanzania, Rwanda and Malawi. Cambodia, Uganda and Zambia have not addressed the issues of peri-urban areas and development of intermediate settlements. Urban and peri-urban land use planning Development of land in urban and peri-urban areas has been inhibited by lack of an effective coordinating framework for preparation and implementation of

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planning proposals and regulations, rapid growth of human settlements and activities that have led to urban sprawl, land use conflicts, environmental degradation, inadequate provision of infrastructure, spread of slum development and low levels of land utilization (Kenya). With annual urban population growth rate of 6-10%, Tanzania is experiencing rapid urbanization. The impacts of uncontrolled expansion of towns, particularly the encroachment of productive rural agricultural and pasture lands are not desirable. Such expansions create uncertainty in tenure and use of rural land which is enclosed within the urban boundaries (Tanzania). Rwanda’s towns are typically spread out due to scattered settlement and various buildings. The spreading out of towns is expensive in terms of infrastructure, and it reduces arable land (Rwanda). Urbanization is an integral aspect of modern economic and social development. As small towns and service centres transform from rural to urban centres, local authorities have to respond by extending their statutory boundaries and services to abounding areas. However, one of the effects of not extending land use planning controls into areas where land is predominantly under customary tenure is that traditional leaders retain the authority to allocate the use and occupation of rural and peri-urban land. This is often done without conforming to any formal planning scheme. There is nothing unlawful about development on customary land in rural and urban areas under the current law. However, the Town and Country Planning Act consider all development in a planning area without planning permission to be illegal and unauthorized. Furthermore, the current principle form of building, especially residential building, is simple single storied structure. This means that each dwelling unit requires a separate plot of land, which contributes to urban sprawl. (Malawi). To address these problems, the policies observe and propose as follows: Noting that proper planning will provide for well coordinated development of urban and peri-urban areas in terms of housing, commercial, industrial and infrastructure development to accommodate changes in lifestyle and economic activities the Kenya NLP directs government to:

• Amend the current Physical Planning Act (Cap 286) and Local Government Act (Cap 265).

• Develop a national land use policy as a basis of land use management and provide an appropriate framework for preparation and implementation of national, regional and local land use plans, ensuring that the process s integrated and participatory and meets stakeholders needs.

• Facilitate appropriate institutional and technical capacity building initiatives for accelerating plan implementation at national, regional and local levels.

• Prepare and implement local area development plans for all urban and peri-urban areas in the country in a participatory manner.

• Establish an effective coordinating mechanism for the preparation, implementation of plans and development control, and

• Encourage development of under utilized land within urban areas. Noting that disputes arise due to conflicts between statutory tenure (in urban areas) and customary tenure (in expanded rural areas) Tanzania’s policy directs the government to:

• Institute measures to limit the loss of agricultural land to urban growth by controlling lateral expansion of all towns.

• Revise planning standards to accommodate vertical building developments.

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• Prevent conflicts of interest arising from expansion of towns into rural land (statutory rights vs customary rights) through careful recording of all customary interests and paying of fair and prompt compensation before formally extinguishing existing land rights in the new (extended) planning areas.

Rwanda’s policy proposes implementation of the following strategic plans: • Adopt plans which allow for more economic use of land by housing a larger

number of people in suitable conditions: high rise buildings and horizontal semi-detached houses.

• Land will be reserved for large scale infrastructure or facilities. Malawi proposes that a comprehensive National Land Use and Physical Development Management policy shall be developed and employed as a guide for rural and urban land use and development decisions so that upon declaration of planning areas, preparation of land use and development plans in new areas shall be preceded by the following: • All interests in land including customary land rights that exist in the planning

areas shall be identified and recorded. • Due process of law shall be instituted to formally extinguish existing land

rights in the planning areas that contravene planning requirements. • All third party interests that exist in the planning area shall first be cleared

before the land is allocated for urban development. • Regarding form of buildings, all urban land use and development plans will

aim at more intensive use of urban land than has been the case in the past. To achieve this, the government will:

o Revise all space and planning standards to promote more compact form of building in all urban areas.

o Zone more area of towns for vertical development. o Within the Central Business Districts and in the immediate

surroundings, vertical extension will constitute the principle building form.

On the Mechanism of converting rural and peri-urban land to urban status Swaziland offers the following solution: • Peri-urban areas shall be defined and designated and ensure that

developments are in accord with laid down plans. Development of intermediate settlements Regarding development of intermediate settlements, Tanzania’s policy document directs district councils to prepare general planning schemes for all intermediate settlements within their jurisdiction. Regarding development of intermediate settlements, Rwanda’s policy document notes that Kigali’s City and capital accounts for 85.7% of the country’s urban population of 770,000, and that industrial activity and various other services are concentrated in the capital while secondary towns are hardly being developed. As decentralization should harmonize the spatial distribution of activities and services, the strategic options to take include: • Some economic and industrial activities still centralized in big towns will be

transferred to other more suitable urban centres. • Land development technicians will be trained.

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• A programme for providing towns with public facilities and infrastructure shall be drawn up for the development of secondary towns.

Regarding development of intermediate settlements, the Malawi policy document directs government as follows: • District and Town Assemblies shall be required to prepare Township

Planning Schemes for all Trading Centres and settlements within their jurisdiction. The scheme shall contain simple land use development proposals and detailed land subdivision plans to guide orderly development of the settlement.

1. Kenya Development of land in urban and peri-urban areas has been inhibited by poor planning, rapid growth of human settlements and activities, urban sprawl and inadequate provision of infrastructure. Lack of an effective coordinating framework for preparation and implementation of planning proposals and regulations has led to urban sprawl, land use conflicts, environmental degradation, inadequate provision of infrastructure, spread of slum development and low levels of land utilization. Proper planning will provide for well coordinated development of urban and peri-urban areas in terms of housing, commercial, industrial and infrastructure development to accommodate changes in lifestyle and economic activities. Therefore the NLP directs government to:

• Amend the current Physical Planning Act (Cap 286) and Local Government Act (Cap 265).

• Develop a national land use policy as a basis of land use management. • Provide an appropriate framework for preparation and implementation of

national, regional and local land use plans, ensuring that the process s integrated and participatory and meets stakeholders needs.

• Facilitate appropriate institutional and technical capacity building initiatives for accelerating plan implementation at national, regional and local levels.

• Prepare and implement local area development plans for all urban and peri=urban areas in the country in a participatory manner.

• Establish an effective coordinating mechanism for the preparation, implementation of plans and development control, and

• Encourage development of under utilized land within urban areas. 2. Tanzania With annual urban population growth rate of 6-10%, Tanzania is said to be experiencing rapid urbanization. The impacts of uncontrolled expansion of towns, particularly the encroachment of productive rural agricultural and pasture lands are not desirable. Such expansions create uncertainty in tenure and use of rural land which is enclosed within the urban boundaries. Based on the limited financial resources, the local authorities cannot provide adequate services nor effectively manage planned development in the extended areas. Furthermore, disputes arise due to conflicts between statutory tenure (in urban areas) and customary tenure (in expanded rural areas).Hence the government shall:

• Institute measures to limit the loss of agricultural land to urban growth by controlling lateral expansion of all towns.

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• Revise planning standards to accommodate vertical building developments • Prevent conflicts of interest arising from expansion of towns into rural land

(statutory rights vs customary rights) through careful recording of all customary interests and paying of fair and prompt compensation before formally extinguishing existing land rights in the new (extended) planning areas.

Regarding development of intermediate settlements, the policy document notes that district councils will prepare general planning schemes for all intermediate settlements within their jurisdiction. 3. Uganda 4. Rwanda Rwanda’s towns are typically spread out due to scattered settlement and various buildings. The spreading out of towns is expensive in terms of infrastructure, and it reduces arable land. Other problems include: (a) difficulties of movement, (b) unhealthy neighbourhoods, (c) insufficient roads, water and sanitation networks, (d) difficulties in linking newly built houses to the outskirts of the town, (e) high maintenance costs, etc. Hence the following strategic plans shall be implemented to carefully densify urban habitats: • Adopt plans which allow for more economic use of land by housing a larger

number of people in suitable conditions: high rise buildings and horizontal semi-detached houses.

• Land will be reserved for large scale infrastructure or facilities. Regarding development of intermediate settlements, the policy document notes as follows: Total urban population in Rwanda is 770,000. Kigali City/capital accounts for 85.7% of this population. Industrial activities and various other services are concentrated in the capital. Secondary towns are hardly being developed and their influence in the hinterland is practically non-existent. As decentralization should harmonize the spatial distribution of activities and services, the strategic options to take include: • Some economic and industrial activities still centralized in big towns will be

transferred to other more suitable urban centres. • Land development technicians will be trained. • A programme for providing towns with public facilities and infrastructure

must be drawn up for the development of secondary towns. 5. Malawi A comprehensive National Land Use and Physical Development Management policy shall be developed and employed as a guide for rural and urban land use and development decisions. Urbanization is an integral aspect of modern economic and social development. As small towns and service centres transform from rural to urban centres, local authorities have to respond by extending their statutory boundaries and services to abounding areas. However, one of the effects of not extending land use planning controls into areas where land is predominantly under customary tenure is that traditional leaders retain the authority to allocate the use and occupation of rural and peri-urban land. This

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is often done without conforming to any formal planning scheme. There is nothing unlawful about development on customary land in rural and urban areas under the current law. However, the Town and Country Planning Act consider all development in a planning area without planning permission to be illegal and unauthorized. Under the NLP: • The application of the Town and Country Planning Act shall extend land use

and development controls to all rural and urban areas. • Compliance with planning and development law will not require the

acquisition and conversion of customary tenure to public ownership. • To prevent the undesirable impact of haphazard urban expansion onto

prime agricultural land, deliberate control will be applied to discourage urban expansion to such areas.

The expansion of existing urban areas and establishment of new towns has long perpetrated the colonial notion that customary land has no value. This notion allowed the application of the Town and Country Planning Act to extinguish customary land rights without adequate compensation. Customary rights are presumed extinct by mere declaration of planning areas. No legal procedures are instituted to formally extinguish the customary land rights before the land, presumed to be public land, is allocated to developers under statutory tenure. Conflicts between statutory and customary allocations in urbanizing areas create problems which include uncertainty in the tenure and use of rural land which is enclosed within the urban boundaries as well ad administrative conflicts between the urban authorities and traditional authorities of the enclosed villages. Hence, upon declaration of planning areas, preparation of land use and development plans in new areas shall be preceded by the following: • All interests in land including customary land rights that exist in the planning

areas shall be identified and recorded. • Due process of law shall be instituted to formally extinguish existing land

rights in the planning areas that contravene planning requirements. • All third party interests that exist in the planning area shall first be cleared

before the land is allocated for urban development. The current principle form of building, especially residential building, is simple single storied structure. This means that each dwelling unit requires a separate plot of land, which contributes to urban sprawl. Hence: • All urban land use and development plans will aim at more intensive use of

urban land than has been the case in the past. To achieve this, the government will:

a) Revise all space and planning standards to promote more compact form of building in all urban areas.

b) Zone more area of towns for vertical development. c) Within the Central Business Districts and in the immediate

surroundings, vertical extension will constitute the principle building form.

Regarding development of intermediate settlements, the policy document notes as follows: District and Town Assemblies shall be required to prepare Township Planning Schemes for all Trading Centres and settlements within their jurisdiction. The scheme shall contain simple land use development proposals and detailed land subdivision plans to guide orderly development of

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the settlement. 6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland Mechanism of converting rural and peri-urban land to urban status. It is National policy that peri-urban areas be defined and designated and ensures that peri-urban developments are in accord with laid down plans. 8. Zambia

3.6.3 INFORMAL URBAN SETTLEMENTS Summary This section on informal urban settlements includes an issue of housing which has been raised only in Malawi’s policy. Zambia’s policy does not address the question of informal settlements. Without giving quantitative information, Kenya’s policy notes that many Kenyans live as squatters, in slums and other squalid places. In the same breath the policy realizes that informal sector activities are a key feature of the economy as a source of livelihoods in both planned and unplanned areas. Tanzania, on its part, observes that more than 50% of urban residents in Tanzania live in poor conditions in unplanned settlements where they have no security of tenure, access to sanitary and other basic services. In spite of this, the policy asserts that these settlements contain a considerable stock of houses which must be preserved. Uganda clarifies that tenancies by occupancy, at will or at sufferance are common in urban areas or rural farmlands. Although precarious, land use under these conditions is important for poverty eradication. State refusal or reluctance to legitimize such bases of occupation and use is the cause of much injustice and misery in urban and rural Africa. It is therefore important that informal tenancies be stabilized and regularized. Rwanda explains that urbanization is currently 16.89% of the country’s total population of 8,128,553. The growth rate is approximately 9% p.a. Most of the ordinary housing (90% in Kigali, more in other towns) has been developing in a spontaneous manner (spontaneous is a euphemism for squatter/informal). Malawi reports that Most residents in traditional towns live in poor conditions in unplanned settlements. They have no access to basic services and also have no security of tenure. There are many factors that contribute to the growth of unplanned settlements. Some arise from natural population increases, rural to urban migration, costly and bureaucratic procedures for land acquisition, high building standards that are unaffordable to the poor urban majority, and laxity in the control of development. Cambodia notes that urban development must lead to the provision of safe and healthy shelter for all. Informal settlements and homelessness are serious

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problems in Phnom Penh and in some provincial cities. In Swaziland, land settlement often occurs without consideration for infrastructure provision, and there is uncontrolled spread of informal settlements. In particular as peri-urban and rural population pressures increase, there is an increasing amount of development which pre-empts future rational land use (including cost-effective infrastructure delivery), and provides hazardous environmental health conditions. Destruction of indigenous forests for fuel wood is another consequence of unplanned and uncontrolled developments. To remedy all these situations, the following have been proposed by the individual policies. Kenya proposes the following: • Put in place mechanism for the removal of squatter from unsuitable land and

their settlement, and facilitate planning of land found to be suitable for human settlement.

• Facilitate negotiation between private owners and squatters in cases of squatter settlements found on private land.

• For slums on public or communal land: develop a slum upgrading and resettlement programme under specified flexible tenure systems.

• Put in place measures to prevent further slum development on private land and open spaces and

• Facilitate the carrying out of informal commercial activities in a planned manner. Facilitate the carrying out of informal commercial activities in a planned manner.

Tanzania has the following proposals to arrest growth of informal settlements: • Timely planning of all the potential areas in the periphery of all towns. • Designating special areas for low income housing with simplified building

regulations and affordable level of services. • Upgrading of informal settlements through participation of the residents.

Ugand proposes the following measures: • According statutory security for informal sector activities without

compromising physical planning standards and requirements. • Providing social infrastructure for informal sector developments. • Encouraging land users in the informal sector to acquire more secure tenure

rights through the market, individually or as communities. Rwanda concludes that spatial growth shall be controlled through the following strategic options: • The spatial growth of towns will be controlled. Land development

programmes will define appropriate sites for urbanization. • Formulation and updating of master plans for land use management and

town planning for a better organization of the urban fabric. • Promotion of the construction of high rise buildings. • Training and capacity building of personnel responsible for the formulation

and execution of plans. • Town planning instruments which provide guidance and control of land.

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• A study of simplified methods of plot distribution and authorization to build. • Organization of housing financing. • Demarcate all districts and forbid unauthorized constructions. To this end:

o The role of the local communities in urban management and urban planning will be strengthened.

o The law on expropriation (in the public interest) and relevant compensations will be modified.

The living conditions of squatters have to be improved: • Accepting that the living conditions of squatters has to be improved the

policy stresses that: o Squatter areas should be recognized. This will entail the

reorganization of land and the development of networks of infrastructure and facilities. This implies expropriation of land rights, the clearing of houses and other buildings located in public areas, and the possibility for the resettlements of the communities.

o The occupation status in squatters should be regularized. Malawi dedicates itself to directing its efforts towards arresting the growth of unplanned settlements thus: • Ensure timely planning of all potential areas for urban development in the

periphery of towns so as to pre-empty haphazard development. Except for non-conforming uses and housing in hazardous areas, the land rights of residents will be protected through upgrading.

• Designing special areas that will be planned for low income housing with simplified building regulations. These areas will be provided with services that the residents need and can afford.

• Upgrading plans will be prepared and implemented by local authorities with the participation of residents and their local community organizations. Local resources will be mobilized to finance planning, development and appropriate cost recovery systems.

• On housing: for households in the lowest income group, the main housing intervention will comprise the regularization of land tenure in existing traditional areas, the provision of demarcated plots with secure tenure, the provision of basic infrastructure services, and the provision of income generating activities.

In Cambodia the policy consensus is to: • Recognize limited, temporary rights to occupancy in informal settlements

while searching for permanent shelter solutions. • Avoid forced eviction as much as possible, and if compulsory relocation is

required, then adequate preparation time, compensation and adequate relocation sites must be provided.

Swaziland policy states that the solution to informal settlements is to: • Ensure that all development of land shall be according to an approved plan

and subject to the approval of the appropriate authorities. • Institute structure plans for rural and peri-urban areas based on the agro-

ecological zoning concept and economic criteria. • Improve the functioning of the formal land market, and provide means to

regularize informal or semi-formal land tenure so as to reduce demands on the informal market which aggravates the problems of uncontrolled

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developments (squatter settlements). 1. Kenya Noting that many Kenyans live as squatters, in slums and other squalid places, the NLP directs government to:

• Put in place mechanism for the removal of squatter from unsuitable land and their settlement, and facilitate planning of land found to be suitable for human settlement.

• Facilitate negotiation between private owners and squatters in cases of squatter settlements found on private land.

• For slums on public or communal land: develop a slum upgrading and resettlement programme under specified flexible tenure systems.

• Put in place measures to prevent further slum development on private land and open spaces and

• Facilitate the carrying out of informal commercial activities in a planned manner.

Realizing that informal sector activities are a key feature of the economy as a source of livelihoods in both planned and unplanned areas the NLP directs government to: • Facilitate the carrying out of informal commercial activities in a planned

manner. 2. Tanzania More than 50% of urban residents in Tanzania live in poor conditions in unplanned settlements where they have no security of tenure no have access to sanitary and other basic services. These settlements contain a considerable stock of houses which must be preserved. The government should therefore arrest growth of informal settlements by:

• Timely planning of all the potential areas in the periphery of all towns. • Designating special areas for low income housing with simplified building

regulations and affordable level of services. • Upgrading of informal settlements through participation of the residents.

3. Uganda Tenancies by occupancy, at will or at sufferance are common in urban areas or rural farmlands. Although precarious, land use under these conditions is important for poverty eradication. State refusal or reluctance to legitimize such bases of occupation and use is the cause of much injustice and misery in urban and rural Africa. It is therefore important that informal tenancies be stabilized and regularized. Measures to do this will include: • According statutory security for informal sector activities without

compromising physical planning standards and requirements. • Providing social infrastructure for informal sector developments. • Encouraging land users in the informal sector to acquire more secure tenure

rights through the market, individually or as communities. 4. Rwanda Urbanization is currently 16.89% of the country’s total population of 8,128,553. The growth rate is approximately 9% p.a. Most of the ordinary housing (90% in

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Kigali, more in other towns) has been developing in a spontaneous manner. Hence spatial growth shall be controlled through the following strategic options: • The spatial growth of towns will be controlled. Land development

programmes will define appropriate sites for urbanization. • Formulation and updating of master plans for land use management and

town planning for a better organization of the urban fabric. • Promotion of the construction of high rise buildings. • Training and capacity building of personnel responsible for the formulation

and execution of plans. • Town planning instruments which provide guidance and control of land. • A study of simplified methods of plot distribution and authorization to build. • Organization of housing financing.

Because the ban of unauthorized additional construction, transformation and sale under customary law was not accompanied with compensation for loss of one’s right to property, the following problems emerged in the peri-urban areas: • Proliferation of unplanned residential areas • The growth of peri-urban areas where conditions of land acquisition are

simpler. Hence the policy provides that all districts will be demarcated and unauthorized constructions will be forbidden. To effect this, the following strategic options will be implemented: • The role of the local communities in urban management and urban planning

will be strengthened. • The law on expropriation (in the public interest) and relevant compensations

will be modified. The living conditions of squatters have to be improved: • Squatter areas should be recognized. This will entail the reorganization of

land and the development of networks of infrastructure and facilities. This implies expropriation of land rights, the clearing of houses and other buildings located in public areas, and the possibility for the resettlements of the communities.

• The occupation status in squatters should be regularized. As land use master plans have not been respected, squatter development have prevailed over urban spaces. The NLP directs that green spaces as well as valleys will be protected, thus: • Parks for tourist attraction will be created in towns. • Existing wooded areas in urban zones should be protected. • Existing valleys in urban areas should be considered as green spaces. • In residential areas, green spaces will be developed and protected against

uncontrolled urbanization, especially on hilly sites to avoid soil erosion. 5. Malawi Most residents in traditional towns live in poor conditions in unplanned settlements. They have no access to basic services and also have no security of tenure. There are many factors that contribute to the growth of unplanned settlements. Some arise from natural population increases, rural to urban

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migration, costly and bureaucratic procedures for land acquisition, high building standards that are unaffordable to the poor urban majority, and laxity in the control of development. The effort of the government will be directed towards arresting the growth of unplanned settlements. Thus: • Timely planning of all potential areas for urban development in the periphery

of towns so as to pre-empty haphazard development. Except for non-conforming uses and housing in hazardous areas, the land rights of residents will be protected through upgrading.

• Designing special areas that will be planned for low income housing with simplified building regulations. These areas will be provided with services that the residents need and can afford.

• Upgrading plans will be prepared and implemented by local authorities with the participation of residents and their local community organizations. Local resources will be mobilized to finance planning, development and appropriate cost recovery systems.

Regarding urban housing the Malawi’s policy proposes that the government will ensure that the housing delivery system enables all income groups to have access to housing. Hence: • For households in the lowest income group, the main housing intervention

will comprise the regularization of land tenure in existing traditional areas, the provision of demarcated plots with secure tenure, the provision of basic infrastructure services, and the provision of income generating activities.

6. Cambodia Urban development must lead to the provision of safe and healthy shelter for all. Informal settlements and homelessness are serious problems in Phnom Penh and in some provincial cities. The policy consensus is to: • Recognize limited, temporary rights to occupancy in informal settlements

while searching for permanent shelter solutions. • Avoid forced eviction as much as possible, and if compulsory relocation is

required, then adequate preparation time, compensation and adequate relocation sites must be provided.

7. Swaziland Land settlement often occurs without consideration for infrastructure provision, and there is uncontrolled spread of informal settlements. In particular as peri-urban and rural population pressures increase, there is an increasing amount of development which pre-empts future rational land use (including cost-effective infrastructure delivery), and provides hazardous environmental health conditions. Destruction of indigenous forests for fuel wood is another consequence of unplanned and uncontrolled developments. It is national policy that: • All development of land be according to an approved plan and subject to the

approval of the appropriate authorities. • Structure plans be instituted for rural and peri-urban areas based on the

agro-ecological zoning concept and economic criteria. If land is unavailable in the formal market, it will place increased demands on the informal market, aggravating the problems of uncontrolled developments (squatter settlements). It is National Policy that: • In addition to improving the functioning of the formal land market,

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government will provide means to regularize informal or semi-formal land tenure.

8. Zambia 9. Namibia Urban Land The rapid urbanization of Namibia’s population together with the inability of the Land administration system to provide sufficient plots to meet demand and/or the demand being unable to meet the cost of such plots, has resulted in the growth of informal settlements in the formal urban and the peri-urban areas. The NLP will continue to support the present multi-sectoral programmes to upgrade informal settlements by: • Ensuring that additional local land is available to settle those displaced by

the formalized planning of such settlements. • The provision of secure tenure through the upgradeable tenure system and

registration based on local land registries. The provision of services and the level of upgrading of plots will be on cost recovery basis.

4.0 LAND USE MANAGEMENT Summary Land use management refers to decision-making, monitoring, controlling and enforcement of decisions about the types of use of land. Development control is the power of the State to regulate property rights in urban and rural land, and is derived from the State’s responsibility to ensure that the use of land promotes the public interest. Objective of land use management is clearly spelt out by Cambodia’s policy below. Kenya’s policy notes that development control has not been extensively applied to regulate the use of land and to ensure sustainability and it is exercised by various government agencies whose activities are uncoordinated, thus making the regulatory framework ineffective. Tanzania’s policy on the other hand, sees that there are growing conflicts between agriculture and other land uses as both human and animal populations increase. This has resulted in the encroachment of forest, woodland, wildlife and rangelands. Uganda’s policy notes that in order for the land resources to be put to sustainable management and productive use, comprehensive reform of the current framework of management must be made. Cambodia’s policy notes that the objective of land management policy is to ensure that land and natural resources are used in an efficient manner in order to support sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, protect land, natural resources and human settlements from deteriorating or undesired use, proposes Based on the foregoing observations, Kenya’s policy recommends that (a) Empower all planning authorities in the country to regulate the use of land taking into account the public interests. (b) Establish development control standards, processes and procedures that are efficient, transparent and accountable as well as enforceable and involve public participation. (c) Ensure effective enforcement of development control, and (d) Ensure effective public participation in the exercise of development control.

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Tanzania’s policy directs the Government to (a) Identify agricultural land, set it aside for agricultural use and protect it from encroachment by pastoralists, and (b) Encourage multiple land use techniques and resource sharing in areas of conflicting land use. Uganda recommends the following measures: (a) Develop and enforce adequate land use standards for development of the land sector as a whole. (b) Provide capacity through training to enable land management agents to function efficiently. (c) Revise policies related to all sub sectors to ensure that they comply with the national land policy (inter sectoral consultation, coordination and participatory approach). (d) Deploy professionals land auditors at local and community levels to monitor and enforce implementation of land use standards. (e) Put in place institutional structures for land management that are decentralized, cost effective and democratically operated, and (f) Educate the land using public about the goals and advantages of public regulation of land use. At the moment, coordinated land management is weakly developed in Cambodia. The policy paper proposes that the environment and natural resources will be managed, conserved and protected in an ecologically sustainable manner to assist in alleviating poverty throughout Cambodia. The fact that occupants of land are the ultimate managers means that they must be partners in the land use planning and natural resource management process. Cambodia’s policy further observes that because many of the poor rely on access to natural resources for income and subsistence, management and access rules for land can play a key role in poverty reduction. Their participation in land use planning is essential. Swaziland presents a conclusion (no prior explanations) thus: land shall be managed as a national resource through a system of land administration that transcends tenure distinctions. 1. Kenya Development control is the power of the State to regulate property rights in urban and rural land, and is derived from the State’s responsibility to ensure that the use of land promotes the public interest. Development control has not been extensively applied to regulate the use of land and to ensure sustainability and it is exercised by various government agencies whose activities are uncoordinated, thus making the regulatory framework ineffective. The NLP proposes government to: • Empower all planning authorities in the country to regulate the use of land

taking into account the public interests. • Establish development control standards, processes and procedures that

are efficient, transparent and accountable as well as enforceable and involve public participation.

• Ensure effective enforcement of development control. • Ensure effective public participation in the exercise of development control.

2. Tanzania There are growing conflicts between agriculture and other land uses as both human and animal populations increase. This has resulted in the

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encroachment of forest, woodland, wildlife and rangelands. The government shall:

• Identify agricultural land, set it aside for agricultural use and protect it from encroachment by pastoralists.

• Encourage multiple land use techniques and resource sharing in areas of conflicting land use.

3. Uganda Land resources must be put to sustainable management and productive use. This cannot be achieved without comprehensive reform of the framework of management currently in force. Hence measures will be taken to: • Develop and enforce adequate land use standards for development of the

land sector as a whole. • Provide capacity through training to enable land management agents to

function efficiently. • Revise policies related to all sub sectors to ensure that they comply with the

national land policy (inter sectoral consultation, coordination and participatory approach).

• Deploy professionals land auditors at local and community levels to monitor and enforce implementation of land use standards.

• Put in place institutional structures for land management that are decentralized, cost effective and democratically operated.

• Educate the land using public about the goals and advantages of public regulation of land use.

6. Cambodia The objective of land management policy is to ensure that land and natural resources are used in an efficient manner in order to support sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, protect land, natural resources and human settlements from deteriorating or undesired use. Hence, land management refers to decision-making, monitoring and enforcement of decisions about the types of use of land. Land management policy therefore focuses around the content and procedures for land use planning, urban planning and land use monitoring and enforcement. Management of land and natural resources connected to land are necessary to ensure that desired economic and social benefits are obtained from land, and to protect against damages or loss of benefits caused by misuse of land. Because many of the poor rely on access to natural resources for income and subsistence, management and access rules for land can play a key role in poverty reduction. Their participation in land use planning is essential. Coordination of land use planning and natural resource management: At the moment, coordinated land management is weakly developed in Cambodia. The environment and natural resources will be managed. Conserved and protected in an ecologically sustainable manner to assist in alleviating poverty throughout Cambodia. The fact that occupants of land are the ultimate managers means that they must be partners in the land use planning and natural resource management process.

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7. Swaziland Policy: • It is National Policy that land be managed as a national resource through a

system of land administration that transcends tenure distinctions. 8. Zambia 9. Namibia Rural Land The Land Use Management and Environmental Board shall ensure that land use planning; land administration, land development and environmental protection are promoted and coordinated on a national and regional basis to guarantee environmental, social and economic sustainability. Land use planning, natural resource management and related issues will be the responsibility of Land Use and Environmental Boards.

4.1 RECOGNITION OF EXISTING LAND TENURE BEFORE ASSIGNING NEW LAND USES Summary In some places there may be long-term existing land tenure systems which have been established due to administrative directives that overlooked legal implications and now the government wishes to replace such tenure systems with new ones. Situations of this type have occurred in Malawi and Tanzania. In Malawi and Tanzania licences or rights and claims such as mining rights, water rights, hunting rights/leases and timber harvesting licences which usually co-exist with other land use rights are issued without coordination with public authorities or land owners. In Tanzania, the nationalization of properties resulting from the Arusha Declaration of 1967, made many settlers/companies to abandon the farms they owned. The government did not take any legal steps to divest such lands from the registered owners. During the villagization programme of 1970s, most of these lands were invaded and settled upon by villagers/institutions who are now developing the lands. They do so as squatters as they have no legal rights to be on the lands. With the liberalization of trade the former occupiers came back and villagers are unilaterally evicted. In such conditions the policy statements direct: (a) The Malawi Government to ensure that permits, licences, claims and rights for the exploitation of land-based resources are coordinated and that environmental impact assessment studies be carried out before any major land development project is carried out. (b) The Tanzania Government to: (i) Take legal steps to extinguish the existing rights through revocation and acquisition procedures, (ii) Redistribute the land to eligible citizens only after the successful completion of the acquisition process, and (iii) Issuance of licences, rights, and claims such as for mining, water rights, to ensure that hunting rights/leases and timber harvesting will take cognizance of existing land tenure rights and in line with land use policies and environmental conservation. 2. Tanzania The nationalization of properties resulting from the Arusha Declaration of 1967, made many settlers/companies to abandon the farms they owned. The

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government did not take any legal steps to divest such lands from the registered owners. During the villagization programme of 1970s, most of these lands were invaded and settled upon by villagers/institutions who are now developing the lands. They do so as squatters as they have no legal rights to be on the lands. With the liberalization of trade the former occupiers came back and villagers are unilaterally evicted. As the villagers/institutions cannot get certificates of occupancy on such lands, the NLP directed government to:

• Take legal steps to extinguish the existing rights through revocation and acquisition procedures.

• Redistribute the land to eligible citizens only after the successful completion of the acquisition process.

Issuance of licences, rights, and claims such as for mining, water rights, hunting rights/leases and timber harvesting will take cognizance of existing land tenure rights and in line with land use policies and environmental conservation. At present licences, rights and claims such as for mining, water rights , hunting rights/leases and timber harvesting licences are issued without regard to existing land tenure rights. This creates land use conflicts and disputes between the allocatees of land and other users. The policy statement directs government to: • Ensure that existing land tenure rights are recognized before user rights

such as for mining, timber harvesting, hunting, etc are considered. • Form an inter-ministerial committee to ensure consultation between the

issuing authorities and the ministry responsible for Lands. • Ensure that permits, licences, claims and rights for exploitation of natural

resources are issued in line with land use policies, and environment conservation policies and programmes.

5. Malawi Frequently licences or rights and claims such as mining rights, water rights, hunting rights/leases and timber harvesting licences which usually co-exist with other land use rights are issued without coordination with public authorities or land owners. The NLP says: • The government will ensure that permits, licences, claims and rights for the

exploitation of land-based resources are coordinated. • Environmental impact assessment studies shall be required before any

major land development project is carried out.

4.2 COMMON LAND BASED NATURAL RESOURCE TENURE POLICY AND BENEFIT SHARING Summary This sub theme on common land based natural resource tenure policy including protection and benefit sharing of the resources refers to resources that are of public interest such as wildlife forests, water minerals marine, land itself, cultural heritage, small islands, beaches, coastlines, wetlands, common grazing areas, islands, etc. Regarding terrestrial fishing, only two policy documents, namely; of Malawi and Tanzania have tackled this sub theme. Cambodia, Rwanda and Zambia policy documents have not subscribed to this

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sub theme. Kenya’ policy proposes to (a) develop comprehensive resource tenure policy regarding the land based resources such as wildlife, forests, water, etc. and (b) develop activities that take into account concerns of public access to beaches, the fragility of the ecosystem and national security. Tanzania observes that allocation of sensitive areas like small islands to individuals and privatization of beaches (e.g. for location of hotels and private homes) has caused destruction to such areas. Hence the policy document directs the Government to: (a) Create a mechanism for protecting sensitive areas such as small islands, border areas, beaches, mountains, national parks, rivers, river basins and banks, seasonal migration routes of wildlife and areas of biodiversity. These shall not be allocated to individuals. (b) All beaches will be public and waterfront development shall be regulated. (c) Marginal land areas shall be defined as a tenure category requiring special development conditions. On terrestrial fishing, the policy statement recommends to government to identify land suitable for terrestrial fishing and conserve it to promote fish farming. Uganda notes that common property resources such as grazing lands, woodlands, water points, ritual grounds, fisheries, irrigation systems, recreational parks, natural lakes, ground water, natural ponds, natural streams, wetlands, forest reserves, national parks and any land reserved for ecological and tourist purposes are usually managed through institutional arrangements. The NLP directs that effective preservation and management of common property resources mechanisms be put in place to: (a) Enact legislation to clarify who may have access to what categories of common property resources and how such access may be secured. (b) Identify, document and gazette all common property resources wherever located and irrespective of their status. (c) Document indigenous knowledge of particular common property resources, especially those of ritual or medicinal value, and (d) Ensure that common property resources exclusively used by or available to particular communities are directly held and managed by them. Malawi explains that since lakeshore recreational areas attract national and international tourists. The attractive beaches of Lake Malawi have already attracted hotel investors and offer good investment opportunities for Malawians. However public access to the beaches is poor because the usable shoreline has already been allocated to private cottages, institutions and industry. This has displaced some fishing villages, interfered with access for fishing operations and threatens the livelihood of fishing communities along the lake. The few remaining village clusters along the shore are under increasing pressure to relocate and make room for private development. The policy document therefore directs government to bring order to development by (a) enforcing the provisions of the Development of Lakeshore Plots (Control) Amendment Order, 1996 in order to prevent undesirable use and to gain control over future development abounding the lake, and (b) Reviewing all existing property rights and development falling within the controlled area for compliance with the lakeshore development master plan. Regarding continued tendency of allocating sensitive areas like lakeshores land and marshes the NLP states as follows to protect such areas (a) For security reasons, small

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islands must be protected. Forests and wildlife reserves or seasonal grazing routes of wildlife must also be safeguarded for environmental and habitat management purposes. These areas or parts of them should not be allocated to individuals, and (b) To facilitate public access to all lakes in Malawi, a public easement equal to 50 metres from all points along the shoreline and stretching inland from the high water mark shall be accessible to the public. Regarding protection of common grazing areas from degradation, Swaziland policy document explains that a recent survey had determined that over half of the common grazing area in Swaziland, including much of Swaziland’s scarce supply of arable land, was very seriously eroded. Continuance of this erosion can only be avoided by the institution and maintenance of strong management. The policy document therefore proposes that both the means and responsibility of controlling land degradation on common grazing areas be placed in the hands of the local community. All livestock grazing must be kept within the carrying capacity of the land. On benefit sharing only two country policy documents, namely; of Kenya and Malawi have been explicit, thus: The spirit here is that local communities/villagers are (a) concerned that they should have a right to share the land based natural resources that are within their environs such as forests, woodlands, and (b) the policy is desirous to conserve these resources. The policies therefore seek to direct governments to recognize community and private rights over the resources and therefore establish mechanism for communities to conserve and manage the resources sustainably. Hence: Kenya’s policy directs government to establish legal frameworks to recognize community and private rights over renewable and non renewable land based natural resources including access thereto. Malawi, notes that more than 90% of Malawians use fuel wood (firewood) for cooking and tobacco curing; there was a high level of environmental damage done through bushfires, poor farming practices, overgrazing, over harvesting of trees, forest clearing for agriculture and others. The policy concludes that all this calls for better management of forests and woodlands. Hence the policy document recommends to government to (a) Encourage Local/village communities to manage forest products locally and be watchdogs to protect community forests and woodlands, (b) Encourage community and village development organizations to practice agro-forestry and (c) Encourage and support programs to involve Communities in safeguarding forest reserves, conservation areas and national parks and to share the revenue derived from them. Regarding terrestrial fishing the policy notes that government will ensure that traditional fishing communities have adequate access to lakeshore areas for fishing operations, special areas will be reserved on the lakeshore for this purpose and as wetlands serve as breeding grounds for fish, and support a variety of wild birds, animals and plants, the NLP further states that wetlands will be studied and proper land uses assigned to appropriate users and authorities for management. 1. Kenya

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The NLP proposes the government to: (a) develop comprehensive resource tenure policy regarding the land based resources such as wildlife, forests, water, minerals, marine, the land itself, cultural heritage, palaeontology, archaelogy, etc. and (b) to develop activities that take into account concerns of public access to beaches, the fragility of the ecosystem and national security. On benefit sharing the NLP observes: Based on the fact that communities and individuals are increasingly becoming aware of their rights to own and use natural resources within their environs, as well as participate in the conservation and management of such resources, the NLP directs government to: • Establish legal frameworks to recognize community and private rights over

renewable and non renewable land based natural resources including access thereto.

2. Tanzania Allocation of sensitive areas like small islands to individuals and privatization of beaches (e.g. for location of hotels and private homes) has caused destruction to such areas. The NLP therefore directed government to:

• Create a mechanism for protecting sensitive areas such as small islands, border areas, beaches, mountains, forests, national parks, rivers, river basins and banks, seasonal migration routes of wildlife, national heritage and areas of biodiversity. These shall not be allocated to individuals.

• All beaches will be public and waterfront development shall be regulated. • Marginal land areas shall be defined as a tenure category requiring special

development conditions. Terrestrial fishing Land suitable for terrestrial fishing will be identified and conserved to promote fish farming. 3. Uganda Common property resources (grazing lands, woodlands, water points, ritual grounds, fisheries, irrigation systems, recreational parks, natural lakes, ground water, natural ponds, natural streams, wetlands, forest reserves, national parks and any land reserved for ecological and tourist purposes) are usually managed through institutional arrangements. Effective preservation and management of common property resources requires that mechanisms be put in place to: • Enact a legislation to clarify who may have access to what categories of

common property resources and how such access may be secured. • Identify, document and gazette all common property resources wherever

located and irrespective of their status. • Document indigenous knowledge of particular common property resources,

especially those of ritual or medicinal value. • Ensure that common property resources exclusively used by or available to

particular communities are directly held and managed by them. Rwanda 5. Malawi. Lakeshore recreational areas attract national and international tourists. The

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attractive beaches of Lake Malawi have already attracted hotel investors and offer good investment opportunities for Malawians. However public access to the beaches is poor because the usable shoreline has already been allocated to private cottages, institutions and industry. This has displaced some fishing villages, interfered with access for fishing operations and threatens the livelihood of fishing communities along the lake. The few remaining village clusters along the shore are under increasing pressure to relocate and make room for private development. To bring order to development: • The provisions of the Development of Lakeshore Plots (Control)

Amendment Order, 1996 will be strictly enforced to prevent undesirable use and to gain control over future development abounding the lake.

• All existing property rights and development falling within the controlled area will be reviewed for compliance with the lakeshore development master plan.

Protection of sensitive areas Over the last several years a tendency of allocating sensitive areas like lakeshores land, marshes and village commons to individuals has developed. The NLP states as follows: • For security reasons, small islands must be protected. Forests and wildlife

reserves or seasonal grazing routes of wildlife must also be safeguarded for environmental and habitat management purposes. These areas or parts of them should not be allocated to individuals.

• To facilitate public access to all lakes in Malawi, a public easement equal to 50 metres from all points along the shoreline and stretching inland from the high water mark shall be accessible to the public.

Terrestrial fishing To ensure that traditional fishing communities have adequate access to lakeshore areas for fishing operations, special areas will be reserved on the lakeshore for this purpose. As wetlands serve as breeding grounds for fish, and support a variety of wild birds, animals and plants, the NLP states thus: • Wetlands will be studied and proper land uses assigned to appropriate

users and authorities for management. On benefit sharing the NLP observes: The level of environmental damage done through bushfires, poor farming practices, overgrazing, over harvesting of trees and others calls for better management of forests and woodlands. More than 90% of Malawians use fuel wood (firewood) for cooking. Forest clearing for agriculture, fuel wood and for tobacco curing is therefore alarming. The NLP states that: • Local/village communities should be encouraged to manage forest products

locally and be watchdogs to protect community forests and woodlands. • Community and village development organizations should be encouraged to

practice agro-forestry. Cutting of trees on steep slopes, hilly areas and watershed areas should be prohibited unless it is done under strict control and guided by selective pruning for sustainable management.

• Programs to involve Communities in safeguarding forest reserves, conservation areas and national parks and to share the revenue derived from them, will be encouraged and supported.

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6. Cambodia. 7. Swaziland A recent survey has determined that over half of the common grazing area in Swaziland, including much of Swaziland’s scarce supply of arable land, is either seriously or very seriously eroded. Continuance of this erosion can only be avoided by the institution and maintenance of strong management. It is National Policy that: • Both the means and responsibility of controlling land degradation on

common grazing areas be placed in the hands of the local community. All livestock grazing must be kept within the carrying capacity of the land.

8. Zambia 9. Namibia Rural Land In accordance with the Minerals (prospecting and Mining) Act, 1992, all mineral rights, notwithstanding the ownership of any person over land in, on and under which any minerals or groups of minerals are found, belong to the State. However the following are excluded fro the term ‘minerals’: water, soil, clay, grave or stone, if used in buildings, agriculture, fencing, roads, bricks and tiles, sports fields, airfields, dams, reservoirs, weirs, canals, or other irrigation works.

4.3 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Summary Cambodia, Swaziland and Zambia did not address this theme. All the other countries did address it. Kenya addresses various aspects of environmental management namely; protection from degradation of natural resources and ecosystem, urban environmental management, and restoration and conservation of land. To address the question of degradation of natural resources such as forests, wildlife, water, marine and coastal resources as well as soil erosion, and the pollution of air, water and land, the NLP proposed government to, among others: (a) Encourage preparation of participatory environmental action plans by communities and individuals living near environmentally sensitive areas to preserve cultural and socio-economic aspects, and (b) Identify, map and gazette critical wildlife migration and dispersal areas and corridors. On the protection of ecosystem (including forests, wetlands and marine and coastal ecosystems, national parks, arid and semi-arid lands, water sheds, lakes and drainage basins) the government shall establish measures to ensure that healthy ecosystems are protected through land use controls, development of comprehensive and integrated land use policy that considers the needs of neighbouring communities and individuals. Regarding urban environmental management the government shall: (a) Prohibit discharge of untreated solid and liquid waste into rivers, lakes and the ocean. (b) Regulate all quarrying and excavation activities, etc. and (c) Ensure that environmental impact assessment and audit are carried out on all land developments that have a propensity to degrade the environment. On restoration and conservation of

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land the government shall introduce incentives to encourage the use of technology and scientific methods for soil conservation and put in place institutional mechanisms for conservation of quality of land for environmental conservation purposes. Tanzania’s policy observes that large farms and ranches allocated in districts with wildlife had blocked wildlife migration routes; wetlands were being considered as wastelands and hazard lands were being encroached. The policy recommended to Government to: (a) Revoke titles to large scale farms and ranches blocking routes of wild life. (b) Allocate wetlands to users who will protect them. (c) Prevent building on hazard lands and on fragile environments such as in river valleys, areas of steep slopes, mangrove swamps, marshlands, etc. Uganda’s policy proposes that to ensure that a framework for the protection and preservation of natural resources (water, minerals, forests, wetlands, wildlife, nature reserves and sensitive ecosystems) for the benefit of the people of Uganda is in place measures will be taken to: (a) Review and revise the regulatory framework of natural resources to clarify who may have access to what natural resources products. (b) Develop and institutionalize mechanisms for the joint and participatory management of natural resources with communities owning or contiguous to land in or over which these resources are situated. (c) Ensure that large-scale investment decisions and activities do not compromise the sustainable management and conservation of natural resources. (d) Develop programmes for the rehabilitation of waste disposal sites, polluted water courses, and control of green house gas emissions. And (e) Provide for special protection for fragile ecosystems and biodiversity colonies, wetlands, water-sheds, lake-shores, and drainage basins. On poor land use practices and loss of soil and vegetation cover the policy document recommends the rehabilitation of degraded lands through design and implementation of prevention and management measures, prepare programmes for the delivery of community based land management extension services and training on appropriate soil management techniques. Rwanda addresses use and management of rural land which comprises hills, marshlands and protected areas. Each category has been assigned strategies for implementation. Noting that grouped settlement is the only form of settlement that will allow good planning and land use management on Hill Lands, consolidation of parceled and scattered plots shall be encouraged as a method of plot distribution and that agriculture in Rwanda shall be oriented towards specialization that will take into account the land use, plans and soil types. On marshland the policy paper recommends that (a) the Ministry of Lands and Environment shall classify and allocate marshlands in accordance with a legislation that will be enforced, and (b) marshland meant for agriculture should only be cultivated after making adequate planning and environmental impact assessment. Regarding protected areas the policy explains that these areas include the natural reserves (i.e. the national parks, game and forest reserves). It recommends that while protection and management of these areas is the responsibility of all Rwandans, a special law should govern the management of protected areas. Malawi’s policy explains that villagers will be sensitized during the land use

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planning process to provide and establish fuel-wood plantations to meet the demands for wood energy. Fragile areas such as steep slopes, wetlands and areas susceptible to flooding will be zoned to prevent or minimize the adverse environmental impact of cultivation and other developments. Concerning management of solid wastes urban areas City, Town and District Assemblies, while involving private sector and local communities, will be required to ensure that all solid wastes are promptly collected from all areas of towns. All effluent generating industries will be obliged to undertake pre-treatment of their effluent to environmentally acceptable quality before discharge into drains, or natural water courses. 1. Kenya In order to address the question of degradation of natural resources such as forests, wildlife, water, marine and coastal resources as well as soil erosion, and the pollution of air, water and land, the NLP proposed government to, among others: • Encourage preparation of participatory environmental action plans by

communities and individuals living near environmentally sensitive areas to preserve cultural and socio-economic aspects.

• Identify, map and gazette critical wildlife migration and dispersal areas and corridors.

To ensure the protection of ecosystems (including forests, wetlands and marine and coastal ecosystems, national parks, arid and semi-arid lands, water sheds, lakes and drainage basins) and their sustainable management, the government shall establish measures to ensure that healthy ecosystems are protected through land use controls, through development of comprehensive and integrated land use policy that considers the needs of neighbouring communities and individuals. The NLP addresses the question of urban environmental management including the poor management of solid and liquid waste, gaseous emissions and unsafe quarries. The government shall therefore: • Prohibit discharge of untreated solid and liquid waste into rivers, lakes and

the ocean. • Regulate all quarrying and excavation activities, etc. • Ensure that environmental impact assessment and audit are carried out on

all land developments that have a propensity to degrade the environment. Regarding restoration and conservation of land, the NLP proposes the government to: • Introduce incentives to encourage the use of technology and scientific

methods for soil conservation and put in place institutional mechanisms for conservation of quality of land for environmental conservation purposes.

2. Tanzania Large farms and ranches allocated in districts with wildlife have blocked wildlife migration routes; wetlands were being regarded as wasteland, and there was increasing encroachment on hazard lands for housing and other developments in towns. To protect wildlife migration routes, wetlands and hazard lands, government will:

• Revoke titles to large scale farms and ranches blocking routes of wild life.

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• Allocate wetlands to users who will protect them. • Prevent building on hazard lands and on fragile environments such as in

river valleys, areas of steep slopes, mangrove swamps, marshlands, etc. 3. Uganda To ensure that a framework for the protection and preservation of natural resources (water, minerals, forests, wetlands, wildlife, nature reserves and sensitive ecosystems) for the benefit of the people of Uganda is in place measures will be taken to: • Review and revise the regulatory framework of natural resources to clarify

who may have access to what natural resources products. • Develop and institutionalize mechanisms for the joint and participatory

management of natural resources with communities owning or contiguous to land in or over which these resources are situated.

• Ensure that large-scale investment decisions and activities do not compromise the sustainable management and conservation of natural resources.

• Develop programmes for the rehabilitation of waste disposal sites, polluted water courses, and control of green house gas emissions.

• Provide for special protection for fragile ecosystems and biodiversity colonies, wetlands, water-sheds, lake-shores, and drainage basins.

Poor land use practices, loss of soil and vegetation cover through erosion, desertification due to climate change effects, serious wastage and pollution of water resources and lack of adequate support service infrastructure, especially agriculture, have caused the deterioration and degradation of land quality especially in rural areas and peri-urban settlements. Hence this trend will be reversed through quality assurance measures that include: • Programmes for the rehabilitation of degraded lands through design and

implementation of prevention and management measures. • Programmes for the delivery of community based land management

extension services. • Training on appropriate soil management techniques.

4. Rwanda Use and management of rural land Rural land comprises hills, marshlands and protected areas. Use and management of (a) hill lands, (b) marshlands, (c) land in protected areas

(a) Hill lands: i. Hill lands are mostly governed by custom which gives rise to

parceling of land, settlement of areas unsuitable for agriculture, aggressive and disorderly deforestation, etc.

ii. The following policy statements shall be observed: o The use and management of national land resources should be

based on master plans and on the allocation and land use plans.

o Grouped settlement is the only and unique method that will allow good planning of land use and rational land management.

o Consolidation of parceled and scattered plots shall be encouraged as a method of plot distribution.

o Should redistribution of land become necessary, (for landless people), the original residents will be compensated either

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financially or in kind. iii. Based on the policy statements, the necessary strategic options

include: o All hill lands must be governed by written law that shall include

development conditions. o Agriculture in Rwanda shall be oriented towards specialization

that will take into account the land use, plans and soil types. o Agro-forestry should be part of the agricultural landscape on the

hills in order to protect soil and environment, and preserve desertification.

(b) Marshlands:

i. Currently there are two opposed uses of marshlands: permanent individual ownership, and temporary ownership. Under the permanent individual ownership, land is cultivated and is a subject of inheritance resulting to tiny plots. Under the temporary ownership district authorities distribute plots to peasants every year, system which does not encourage investment in land. Both these are archaic forms of agricultural practices. Hence, the policy statements include: o The Ministry of Lands and Environment shall classify and

allocate marshlands in accordance with a legislation that will be enforced.

o Marshland meant for agriculture should only be cultivated after making adequate planning and environmental impact assessment.

ii. The strategic options for this include: o Comprehensive inventory of marshlands and clarification of

their location and purpose. o Specialization of marshland farmers and avoidance of

subdivision of land into smaller units. o For the sake of environmental protection, any form of

disturbance of very fragile environmental sites should be avoided (e.g. land which constitutes water reservoirs, water towers).

(c) Land in protected areas: i Protected areas include the natural reserves (i.e. the national parks,

game and forest reserves). The policy statement states that: o Protection and management of protected areas is the

responsibility of all Rwandans. o A special law should govern the management of protected

areas. ii Strategic options to implement the policy statements include:

o Inventory and demarcation of protected areas. o Formulation and implementation of development and

management plans for each protected area. o Development of an integrated policy and legal framework for

conservation and sustainable use of resources in protected areas.

5. Malawi Villagers will be sensitized during the land use planning process to provide and

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establish fuel-wood plantations to meet the demands for wood energy. Fragile areas such as steep slopes, wetlands and areas susceptible to flooding will be zoned to prevent or minimize the adverse environmental impact of cultivation and other developments. The management of solid wastes is poor in most urban areas. When left uncollected, both solid and liquid waste become breeding grounds for vermin, mosquitoes, and other disease vector insects creating grave health hazards and pollution to the urban environments. Thus the NLP directs as follows: • City, Town and District Assemblies will be required to ensure that all solid

wastes are promptly collected from all areas of towns. Regulations for the control, collection, transportation and disposal of all hazardous industrial refuse already exist in the Environmental Act and should be complied within affirmation of the NLP.

• The private sector and local communities shall be fully involved in the collection and disposal of solid waste in towns and in cleaning local community environments.

• All effluent generating industries will be obliged to undertake pre-treatment of their effluent to environmentally acceptable quality before discharge into drains, or natural water courses.

6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland 8. Zambia 9. Namibia Urban Land The NLP will ensure that future developments are scrutinized for environmental impact. Thus the following will be promoted: • The use of renewable energy resources. • The protection, promotion and rehabilitation of existing natural

environments. Rural Land Namibia’s NLP will at all times promote environmentally sustainable land use.

4.4 RANGELANDS AND LIVESTOCK KEEPING Summary This sub theme is addressed by only five policy documents, namely of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Swaziland. The rest did not do so. Kenya’s policy point out that colonial and post colonial land administration in the pastoralist areas led to the deprivation of land management rights from the traditional institutions thereby creating uncertainty on the access, control and exploitation of land based resources including grazing lands, water and salt licks. The policy therefore directs government to secure pastoralists livelihood and tenure to land by: (a) Establishing a legislative framework to regulate dealings in land in pastoralist areas, and (b) Providing for flexible and negotiated cross boundary access to water, pastures and salt licks among

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clans, groups and communities for mutual benefit to facilitate the migratory nature of pastoralism. Tanzania’s policy notes that alienation of rangelands for large scale agriculture has frequently disowned pastoralists of grazing land thus creating conflicts. Hence the government shall: (a) Guarantee security of tenure for pastoralists by appropriate measures including gazetment to protect grazing land from encroachment, and (b) Issue certificates of village land to protect common property regimes. Because free movement of pastoralists with their cattle bring about land ownership and land use conflicts with settled communities and additionally cause land degradation in areas where they pass, the following policy will further be enforced: (a) Shifting and nomadism will be prohibited, (b) Cattle movement will be regulated, and (c) Pastoralists and agriculturalists/peasants will be educated on good land management and utilization. Uganda observes that pastoral communities occupy dry lands which are harsh in terms both of climate and ecology. The dry lands environments also provide habitat for many wildlife species. In order to prevent threats to pastoral resources, legislative measures will be put in place to: (a) Prescribe clear principles of ownership, control and management of pastoral lands as common property under customary law. (b) Protect pastoral lands from indiscriminate appropriation by individuals or corporate institutions under the guise of investment. (c) Maintain an equitable balance between the use of land for pasture, agriculture, and for wildlife protection. (d) Establish mechanisms for flexible and negotiated cross-border access to pastoral resources among clans, lineages and communities for their mutual benefit, and (e) Establish efficient mechanisms for the speedy resolution of conflict over pastoral resources. Malawi observes that land use plans will contain guidelines for the location of livestock grazing consistent with agricultural land use. However, there are growing conflicts between agriculture and other land uses as both human and animal population increase. To address this, the NLP directs that: (a) The government will introduce buffer zones in areas where agriculture conflicts with forestry or grazing land, and (b) Sensitive areas like steep slopes, severe gullies, overgrazed lands, shallow soils and semiarid lands, which form fragile ecosystems, will be earmarked for conservation. Swaziland, like Malawi, observes that integrated land management is to ensure adequate provision of land for both human settlements and wildlife conservation. Hence wildlife conservation shall be provided for through allocating adequate land for the purpose. 1. Kenya Colonial and post colonial land administration in the pastoralist areas led to the deprivation of land management rights from the traditional institutions thereby creating uncertainty on the access, control and exploitation of land based resources including grazing lands, water and salt licks. The NLP directs government to secure pastoralists livelihood and tenure to land by:

• Establishing a legislative framework to regulate dealings in land in

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pastoralist areas. • Provide for flexible and negotiated cross boundary access to water,

pastures and salt licks among clans, groups and communities for mutual benefit to facilitate the migratory nature of pastoralism.

2. Tanzania Alienation of rangelands for large scale agriculture has frequently disowned pastoralists of grazing land thus creating conflicts. Hence the government shall:

• Guarantee security of tenure for pastoralists by appropriate measures including gazetting to protect grazing land from encroachment.

• Certificates of village land will be issued to protect common property regimes.

As free movement of pastoralists with their cattle bring about land ownership and land use conflicts with settled communities and additionally cause land degradation in areas where they pass, the following policy will be enforced:

• Shifting and nomadism will be prohibited. • Cattle movement will be regulated. • Pastoralists and agriculturalists/peasants will be educated on good land

management and utilization. 3. Uganda Pastoral communities occupy dry lands which are harsh in terms both of climate and ecology. The dry lands environments also provide habitat for many wildlife species. In order to prevent threats to pastoral resources, legislative measures will be put in place to: • Prescribe clear principles of ownership, control and management of pastoral

lands as common property under customary law. • Protect pastoral lands from indiscriminate appropriation by individuals or

corporate institutions under the guise of investment. • Maintain an equitable balance between the use of land for pasture,

agriculture, and for wildlife protection. • Establish mechanisms for flexible and negotiated cross-border access to

pastoral resources among clans, lineages and communities for their mutual benefit.

• Establish efficient mechanisms for the speedy resolution of conflict over pastoral resources.

4. Rwanda 5. Malawi Land use plans will contain guidelines for the location of livestock grazing consistent with agricultural land use. There are growing conflicts between agriculture and other land uses as both human and animal population increase. The NLP directs that: • The government will introduce buffer zones in areas where agriculture

conflicts with forestry or grazing land. • Sensitive areas like steep slopes, severe gullies, overgrazed lands, shallow

soils and semiarid lands, which form fragile ecosystems, will be earmarked

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for conservation. 6. Cambodia 7. Swaziland Integrated land management is to ensure adequate provision of land for both human settlements and wildlife conservation. It is the National Policy that: • Wildlife conservation be provided for through allocating adequate land for

the purpose. 8. Zambia 9. Namibia Rural Land Dual grazing rights will be prohibited: persons with exclusive access to areas of grazing land will not be allowed to have access to areas of communal grazing land, except by express permission of the communities holding rights to such communal land. In rural areas other than communal areas only freehold and leasehold titles can be bought, sold or granted. Customary grant holdings of large commercial herd owners may be upgraded to leasehold or where these large commercial herd owners are transferred from communal areas to commercial farms so as to relief grazing pressure in the communal areas.

4.5 RESOLUTION OF HISTORICAL INJUSTICES 1. Kenya Historical injustices are land grievances which stretch back to colonial land policies and laws (1895-onwards) that resulted in mass disinheritance of communities of their land, and which grievances have not been sufficiently resolved to date. The grievances remain unresolved because successive post independence governments have failed to address them in a holistic manner. Hence NLP directs government to:

• Establish mechanisms to resolve historical land claims arising in 1895 or thereafter. 1895 is the year when Kenya became a colony under the British East African Protectorate with power to enact policies and laws under the Crown. It is these colonial policies and laws which formed the genesis of the mass disinheritance of various Kenyan communities of their land.

• Establish a suitable legal and administrative framework to investigate the historical injustices and recommend mechanisms for their resolution.

• Review all laws and policies adopted by post independence governments that exacerbate the historical injustice, including the constitutional provisions on the right to private property and compensation on compulsory acquisition regardless of how the property was acquired.

• Establish suitable mechanism for restitution (restoration of land rights to those who have unjustly been deprived of such rights), reparation and compensation of historical injustices or claims.

9. Namibia Restitution of land rights abrogated by the colonial and South African Authorities prior to independence will not form part of Namibian Land Policy.

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4.6 LAND POLICY FOR MILITARY AREAS 6. Cambodia Land will be reserved for Military development areas and to be used by the military services for their various needs including settlement for demobilized soldiers. In general, border areas are preferred for the development of Military Development areas.

5.0

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK Summary Kenya and Zambia’s policy documents discuss this theme to a greater extent than do the rest of the policy documents. The question of vestment has also been tackled under Legal Framework (Land as a Constitutional matter). The Kenya policy document recommends that the radical title shall be vested in the people of Kenya collectively as a nation, as communities and as individuals. On land administration and management aspect the policy paper recommends that the Government shall set up three land management institutions, namely: • National Land Commission (NLC) which shall be a constitutional body and

shall carry out land administration and management efficiently, equitably and sustainably.

• District Land Boards, and • Community Land Boards The Tanzania’s policy states that: • All land in Tanzania is public land vested in the President as trustee on

behalf of all citizens. • The Minister of Land Development is the sole authority responsible for land

matters. All lower levels, i.e. districts &Village Councils have delegated authority on land matters.

• Authority responsible for land administration is the Commissioner for Lands, who will appoint officers to administer land other than village land at appropriate level of government. Village land is administered by Village Councils.

The Rwanda policy paper states that the Ministry of Lands is the prominent manager of the land at the national level. Accordingly, it should have an efficient land administration structure. Zambia states that the institutional set up for land administration and management is set in four levels, namely; National, Provincial, District and Local level. Furthermore Zambia notes that the broad challenges include: Lack of well functioning and systematic institutional framework; lack of establishment at district level; lack of mandate of the Ministry of Lands to deal with spatial planning, land use and valuation; and lack of effective coordination among institutions dealing in land administration. Cambodia makes reference to a dispute resolution mechanism but does not mention anything on vestment of land. So it states as follows: As the new Land

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Law comes into force, the Cadastral Commission of MLMUPC will be replacing the Dispute Resolution Commission. There will be need to strengthen the institutional and the capacity of the staff responsible for land dispute resolution, and improve their relationship with the court organs. Training will draw on the skills of local educational institutions focusing on conflict resolution and NGOs practicing in this area. Capacity will be improved through the provision of office equipment and transportation to the Commission. Legal aid for disadvantaged groups will be made available through public-private partnerships with NGOs. The rest of the policy papers are not elaborate on overall institutional framework of land administration. 1. Kenya The radical title shall be vested in the people of Kenya collectively as a nation, as communities and as individuals. The Government shall set up three land management institutions: • National Land Commission (NLC) which shall be a constitutional body and

shall carry out land administration and management efficiently, equitably and sustainably.

• District Land Boards, and • Community Land Boards District Land Boards shall act as agents of the NLC at district level. 2. Tanzania • All land in Tanzania is public land vested in the President as trustee on

behalf of all citizens. • Minister of Land Development is the sole authority responsible for land

matters. All lower levels, i.e. districts &Village Councils have delegated authority on land matters.

• Authority responsible for land administration is the Commissioner for Lands, who will appoint officers to administer land other than village land at appropriate level of government. Village land is administered by Village Councils.

3. Uganda 4. Rwanda Under the current legal position, the Rwandan peasant, just as the city dweller, considers himself as the owner of his land while the government considers itself as the prominent owner of the land. At the institutional level, land has always been under several managements. Hence the policy statement directs that: • One unified law will define accurately the rights and obligations of title deed

holders. • The Ministry of Lands is the prominent manager of the land at the national

level. Accordingly, it should have an efficient land administration structure. • All developers of related resources should obtain prior approval from the

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Ministry of Lands. 6. Cambodia As the new Land Law comes into force, the Cadastral Commission of MLMUPC will be replacing the Dispute Resolution Commission. There will be need to strengthen the institutional and the capacity of the staff responsible for land dispute resolution, and improve their relationship with the court organs. Training will draw on the skills of local educational institutions focusing on conflict resolution and NGOs practicing in this area. Capacity will be improved through the provision of office equipment and transportation to the Commission. Legal aid for disadvantaged groups will be made available through public-private partnerships with NGOs. 7. Swaziland • It is a fundamental principle of this policy that institutional coherence and

efficiency is a necessary precondition for the achievement of all the objectives.

• As lasting progress is built incrementally, one step at a time, practices and institutions that encourage such growth are to be facilitated.

8. Zambia The institutional set up for land administration and management is set in four levels, namely; National, Provincial, District and Local level. At national level, land administration and management is anchored in the Ministry of Lands. The Ministry performs the functions of policy guidance to all institutions involved in land alienation and the general public, land identification, land allocation, land survey and geo-information, land registration, dispute resolutions and collections of land related fees and other charges. At this level there are also other government institutions that perform land administration and management functions. They include: Ministry of Local government and Housing, Ministry of Agriculture and Department of resettlement under office of the Vice President. These perform functions of spatial planning, land use management, valuation, revenue management and land allocation. This spread of functions across several Ministries renders land administration and management ineffective. At Provincial level, the Ministry performs the functions of land identification, allocation, surveys and geo-information, and revenue collection of land related fees and charges. There is no land registration at Provincial level. At District level, the Ministry of Lands is not represented. Land allocation is done by Local Authorities while spatial planning is done by Municipal and city councils and the Provincial Planning Authorities. Identification of agricultural land is done by the ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Department of Resettlement. At Local level, the Ministry of Lands is not represented. Chiefs identify and make recommendations to the Commissioner of lands. The broad challenges here include: Lack of well functioning and systematic institutional framework; lack of establishment at district level; lack of mandate

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of the Ministry of Lands to deal with spatial planning, land use and valuation; and lack of effective coordination among institutions dealing in land administration. Policy measures: In order to effectively strengthen the administration and management of land services , the government will: • Streamline and reorganize the administration and management of land by

ensuring that settlements (and resettlements), spatial planning, land use and valuation fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Lands.

• Create inclusiveness and accountability in the land delivery process. • Restructure network of institutions dealing with land administration and

management and develop flexible systems allowing for public-private partnerships and private sector participation.

• Ensure that the functions of the ministry responsible for land are decentralized to district level.

5.1 LAND TAXATION

Summary The other themes that have been used in various policy documents are: Land rent, and Land revenue. Tanzania, Rwanda and Swaziland In the countries examined, tax collection is not efficiently collected partly because: There is yet no mechanism for the collection of the tax (Kenya, Zambia, Uganda); Registered land is limited partly because some people have been reluctant to obtain titles, in order to avoid the land transfer tax, and as a result the informal market that cannot be taxed is flourishing, making government to lose enormous income (Cambodia). Kenya policy states that in order to facilitate efficient utilization of land and land based resources, the government shall (a) Introduce a development levy on undeveloped land, (b) Introduce land taxes for commercial farms in rural areas, and (c) Improve the capacity of public institutions including local authorities to assess and collect taxes. Zambia gives reasons for the inefficient and ineffective revenue collection of ground rent and other fees as being cause by lack of accurate data and a reliable land information management system, lack of clear revenue collection system and lack of periodical reviews. Accordingly the challenges that Zambia is facing include: Limited tax base due to unregistered settlements; lack of an efficient and effective revenue collection system for ground rent and other fees resulting in under collections; and Lack of accurate data and a reliable information system. The policy document therefore proposes that in order to address taxes that are land related government will: (a) establish an efficient and effective revenue collection system for ground rent and other land related fees and charges, (b) broaden the revenue base by regularizing the unplanned settlements, (c) improve land information management system, and (d) ensure accurate data is maintained and review fees and charges periodically. Cambodia proposes that in order to ensure land transfers of the informal market are captured within the formal system, further consideration of developing new rates based on zoning or land use should be developed. For example low rates (1% or less) may be considered for rural agriculture while

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higher rates (1.5%-4%) for urban commercial zones may be developed. It is imperative that citizens are aware of the value of registering land transfers. Accordingly a programme of awareness is called for. If people do not feel that the benefit of the formal system outweighs the current and future costs then this will only reinforce the continual use of the informal market. Uganda seeks to streamline fiscal transfers between national, local and community land rights delivery institutions so as to ensure equity in the sharing and use of land services revenue. It also proposes to enhance the capacity of local and community governance institutions so as to be able to raise and utilize revenue from land sector operations. Malawi does not specify the amount of tax collected. In general it says: Land rent payable annually for any land leased by the government shall be based on the economic value of the land in question. In Namibia, land and property taxation in proclaimed urban areas already exists in the form of rates against land and improvements situated on freehold land. The NLP proposes to introduce two different rates of land taxes in the rural areas. 1. Kenya To facilitate efficient utilization of land and land based resources, the government shall:

• Introduce a development levy on undeveloped land, • Introduce land taxes for commercial farms in rural areas. • Improve the capacity of public institutions including local authorities to

assess and collect taxes. 2. Tanzania 3. Uganda Revenue generation (land taxes, land rates, stamp duty, rental income, and delivery of services) will, among others, be achieved through: • Streamlining fiscal transfers between national, local and community land

rights delivery institutions so as to ensure equity in the sharing and use of land services revenue.

• Enhancing the capacity of local and community governance institutions to raise and utilize revenue from land sector operations.

4. Rwanda 5. Malawi Land rent payable annually for any land leased by the government shall be based on the economic value of the land in question. 6. Cambodia Unused land tax: The objectives are: • Prevent all aspects of land purchase for speculation. • Promote proper use of land. • Raise revenues for the benefit of the State budget.

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Unused owner of the unused land is liable for the tax which is calculated at the rate of 2% of the market price of the land valued according to the ‘price per square metre’ which is determined each year by the committee for valuation of unused land. The unused land tax is difficult to collect without clarity about land ownership and limited capacity to monitor land use. Transfer tax: Transfer tax is 4%.The tax covers transfers in relation to land sales and gifts. The policy document encourages the Ministries of Economics and Finance and the Ministry of Land management, Urban Planning and Construction to cooperate to prevent the evasion of these taxes (i.e. unsused land tax, and transfer tax) by avoidance of legal land transfer operation for both titled and untitled land. Because limited land registration and high unofficial land transfer operation, the government loses enormous income. It has been reported that some people have been reluctant to obtain titles, in order to avoid the land transfer tax. In order to ensure that land transfers of the informal market are captured within the formal system, further consideration of developing new rates based on zoning or land use should be developed. For example low rates (1% or less) may be considered for rural agriculture while higher rates (1.5%-4%) for urban commercial zones may be developed. It is imperative that citizens are aware of the value of registering land transfers. Accordingly a programme of awareness is called for. If people do not feel that the benefit of the formal system outweighs the current and future costs then this will only reinforce the continual use of the informal market. Registration fees: The inter-ministerial instruction establishment of Cadastral fees of 28th May 2002 (No. 377) establishes fees for each type of land registration. 7. Swaziland 8. Zambia Land related taxes in Zambia are based on land and the improvement on it. The revenue collection system for ground rent and other fees is currently not as efficient and effective as expected because of lack of accurate data and a reliable land information management system, lack of clear revenue collection system and lack of periodical reviews. Challenges include: Limited tax base due to unregistered settlements; lack of an efficient and effective revenue collection system for ground rent and other fees resulting in under collections; and Lack of accurate data and a reliable information system. Policy measures: In order to address taxes that are land related government will: • Establish an efficient and effective revenue collection system for ground rent

and other land related fees and charges. • Broaden the revenue base by regularizing the unplanned settlements. • Improve land information management system. • Ensure accurate data is maintained and review fees and charges

periodically. 9. Namibia Urban Land Land and property taxation in proclaimed urban areas already exists in the form of rates against land and improvements situated on freehold land.

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Rural Land A tax on freehold agricultural land will be introduced. The Regional Land Board will be encouraged and empowered to introduce user fees for specified natural resources in particular graze land. Different rates of land taxes will be introduced in the rural areas.

6.0 CAPACITY BUILDING Summary This sub theme should be read together with the sub theme on “Surveys and Mapping” where the need for capacity building has been discussed in context of the core activities discussed in that section. The capacity building component could not be disaggregated. All NLP documents examined acknowledge that survey and mapping functions are integral to an efficient land delivery system under any tenure system. These functions support the planning process in general, and the registry system, in particular, by supplying accurate information on parcel characteristics, sizes, boundaries and servitudes. They also point out that the manually operated cadastral systems are not delivering services efficiently; and that there is a dearth of human capacity. The policy documents therefore note that there is need enhance institutional and human resource capacity through education and training of land administration and management professionals at a variety of levels. Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi specifically refer to creating human resource capacity to operate the computerized infrastructure for land delivery. Kenya proposes to ensure that education and training will ensure that land use plans are applied as tools for effective land use management. Uganda additionally, proposes to: • Educate the land using public on the need for public regulation of land use. • Build capacity for enforcement and periodic monitoring of the effects of

public regulation. Prior to undertaking the said training, Malawi proposes to undertake a project that will review the survey needs of the country, professional and technical staffing levels, training facilities and equipment needed to meet the requirements for demarcation and registration of customary land ownership will be developed and funded as soon as possible. In addition to the said education and training initiatives, Cambodia proposes additional measures that include supporting domestic training in the areas of management and technical skills for systematic and sporadic land registration and focused study tours and overseas training opportunities to enhance the understanding of recent developments in land administration and management. Zambia: [See under sub theme Surveys and Mapping]

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1. Kenya The NLP stresses on the need to enhance institutional and human resource capacity of planning institutions with the view to ensuring that land use plans are applied as tools for effective land use management. • The government shall create human resource capacity to operate the

computerized infrastructure for land delivery. 2. Tanzania • The government shall train the needed staff to be able to handle the new

technology (i.e. computerization of the land records). 3. Uganda Land demarcation, survey and mapping are functions which are integral to an efficient land delivery system under any tenure. These functions support the planning process in general, and the registry system, in particular, by supplying accurate information on parcel characteristics, sizes, boundaries and servitudes. The process of these functions has been impeded by inter alia, shortage of qualified personnel, administrative bottlenecks in the approval of plans, and prohibitive private survey costs. Capacity to discharge these functions will be enhanced through: • The provision of facilities for training of land demarcation, survey and

mapping personnel by public or private sector agencies. Strategies will be put in place to: • Educate the land using public on the need for public regulation of land use. • Secure public confidence in the implementation of regulatory mechanisms • Build capacity for enforcement and periodic monitoring of the effects of

public regulation. 4. Rwanda • The NLP recommends training and capacity building of personnel

responsible for the formulation and execution of plans. 5. Malawi Skill acquisition training and capacity training strategies will be used to ensure a smooth transition from manual to automated land registration procedures. A 1999 performance review of the Survey Department concluded that the Department was understaffed, and had numerous vacancies. Thus the NLP states: • A project to review the survey needs of the country, professional and

technical staffing levels, training facilities and equipment needed to meet the requirements for demarcation and registration of customary land ownership will be developed and funded a.s.a.p.

• Training opportunities in Malawi and abroad will be pursued in the immediate term to provide a cost effective avenue to provide for retraining of existing staff, and to provide immediate opportunities for recruiting additional surveyors to meet current demand.

• The Records Section of the Department of Survey will be computerized and modernized to improve its preparedness to manage the geodetic framework and digital base mapping data for establishing a Land Resource Information System in liaison with other land sector agencies.

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• The program to modernize the registration system will be regarded as an essential aspect of the goal to establish modern district registry offices to handle the registration of interests in all of Malawi.

• The staff currently employed and others to be employed will be trained in the essential skills for operating and managing the new computerized land registration technology.

6. Cambodia The long term development and sustainability of land administration and land management in Cambodia requires highly skilled human resources. The policy of the government is to promote education and training for land management professionals at a variety of levels through several programmes. The MLMUPC will: • Support domestic training in the areas of management and technical skills

for systematic and sporadic land registration. • Support focused study tours and overseas training opportunities to enhance

the understanding of recent developments in land administration and management.

• At the same time long term development of human resource capacity will be increased through establishment of appropriate technical university courses.

The initial emphasis will be on the establishment of a technical course for surveying and land administration, followed by the development of a university course in land administration and land management. Implementation of this land policy framework is a long-term task that is anticipated to take 10-15 years. The initial investments in field of surveying and land registration, development of land information systems and capacity building will cost approximately $ 5 million per year during initial implementation. 7. Swaziland [Capacity building has not been addressed] 8. Zambia [Capacity building addressed under “Surveys and mapping”] 9. Namibia The Ministry of Lands, resettlement and rehabilitation will provide for the capital and recurrent costs of establishing, staffing and operating Land Boards throughout the country.

7.0 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL LAND POLICY Summary With the exception of Malawi, all examined policy documents address how the policy will be implemented. In all countries the Ministries responsible for land development have been entrusted with the duty to coordinate implementation of the policies, ensuring that they consulted and worked together other stakeholder ministries agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations. Kenya recommends establishment of a Land Reform Transformation Unit to act as an interim administrative mechanism (initially for two years) to operationalize policy pending the establishment of National Land Commission. The Unit shall

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undertake training to build capacity of ministerial staff, staff of the Unit, and for the local level institutions that will be involved in land administration and management functions. Uganda, stressing on full involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of the policy framework, underscores that a platform for professional organizations to discuss changes proposed in the land policy and to identify appropriate strategies for the programme of action under it shall be established. Also the private sector shall be given the opportunity to contribute resources for the implementation of the policy. The implementation strategy in Rwanda shall include the establishment of a Master Plan for land allocation, land use and land development as well as a National Land and Geographical Information Centre that will include land registry and land use planning. Because human capacity is weak the policy document further says that the capacity of the decentralized services shall be strengthened and improved. Cambodia sees implementation of the policy through strategies to (a) Implement and operate a nation-wide land registration system using both sporadic and systematic registration procedures, including all property, both public and private, (b) Resolve land disputes through the local Administrative Commission, Provincial/Municipal Land Dispute Settlement Commissions and the court organs, and (c) establish an accurate geodesic network, aerial photography and base mapping, and up to date land information systems. Swaziland says it will implement the policy through revision of various laws, including: the Human Settlements Authority Act, Building and Housing Act, and Town Planning Act with the view to drafting a single Act to be known as “Physical planning and Development Control Act” and based on this Act, develop a National Development Code. It will also upgrade professional standards through relevant legislative reforms (Valuers’ Act, Real Estate Agents Act, Engineers, Architects and Surveyors Act) in order to create the much needed credibility and integrity of property-related professionals in smooth functioning of a property market. Swaziland continues to note that: Good land resource management is dependent on efficient gathering and production of effective land related information. Sectors involved in this are: survey and mapping, registration, valuation, allocation, planning and environmental management. In essence this means the application of computer technology, and an integrated, corporate approach is necessary because land information is dispersed across numerous Ministries and organizations.

Zambia, on its part notes that in order to implement the Policy, the Government will adopt a strategy that involves all stakeholders in a participatory and inclusive manner. Zambia touches on an issue that has not been referred to by other policy documents, namely; monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the policy. Accordingly the government will: • Establish an integrated system of monitoring and evaluation, and

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• Develop monitoring and evaluating instruments for the implementation of the land policy.

Financing On financing, only three policy documents make reference to it, namely; Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. Kenya comes up with an upfront specific lump sum budget for a period of six years. Uganda and Zambia, provide outlines of inputs which need to be considered to arrive at a realistic cost for the implementation of the policy. Uganda goes further to note that public awareness and education about the policy is necessary to ensure that the policy is fully understood. 1. Kenya The Ministry of Lands shall:

• Consult other sectoral agencies and development partners to set out a framework for implementation of the policy.

• Establish a Land Reform Transformation Unit to act as an interim administrative mechanism (initially for two years) to operationalize policy pending the establishment of NLC. The Unit shall undertake training to build capacity of ministerial staff, staff of the Unit, and for the local level institutions that will be involved in land administration and management functions.

Financing land reform programme: The envisaged land sector reform to cost Ksh 9.6 billion over a period of six years. 2. Tanzania All stakeholders, development partners and NGOs are expected to work with the Ministry responsible for land matters to ensure efficient implementation of the policy. 3. Uganda a) Implementation of the policy involves costing it, i.e. assessing its financial, institutional, personnel and infrastructure requirements. The process of realistic costing will involve: • Developing cost estimates for all activities or programmes anticipated by the

policy. • Taking an inventory of existing resource capacity in the land sector to

determine their usability and level of shortfall in the implementation of the policy.

• Auditing existing and proposed new institutional structures to eliminate wastage due to duplication, overlap and unproductive competition among various decision making centres, and

• Ensuring that the cost of implementation of the policy is fully budgeted as part of land sector reform.

b) To ensure that the NLP is fully understood, a programme of education and dialogue must be opened throughout the country. This shall be done through: • Translation of the final version of the policy into all of Uganda’s major

indigenous languages. • Train local and community leaders in the implementation of the policy. • Prepare strategy and material for civic education, and

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• Facilitate the organization of local and community workshops and seminars on the policy.

c) Establish policy framework programme, including: • Establishment of a policy implementation unit in the relevant ministry to

spearhead the programme implementation through research, consultation, capacity building and education.

• Propose a time table for the review of existing legislation and institutional arrangements in the land sector.

• Engage the legislature, the Attorney General’s office and local councils with a view to presenting all legislative measures required to implement the NLP.

• Design and strengthen structures for the coordination of programme implementation between land related and other social and economic sectors.

d) All stakeholders must be fully involved in the implementation of the policy framework, notably to ensure that: • A platform exists for professional organizations to discuss changes

proposed in the land policy and to identify appropriate strategies for the programme of action under it.

• The support of stakeholders is sought in the preparation, operationalization, monitoring and evaluation policy.

• The private sector is able to contribute resources for the implementation of the policy.

e) Put in place a framework for continuous monitoring of the progress of land policy implementation to ensure that: • A national land policy implementation monitoring and evaluation system is

established. • The NLP is reviewed at least every five years. • The entire land sector reform package generates growth and wealth creates

for the people of Uganda. The NLP lists in the appendix:

(a) List of land sector institutions requiring overhaul or establishment. (b) List of legislations requiring revision, amendment, repeal or enactment. (c) List of sectoral policies to be revised of designed. (d) List of treaties, conventions and agreements to be renegotiated (e) A chart illustrating preliminary architecture of the rights administration

system. (f) List of land related laws in Uganda.

4. Rwanda For the implementation of this policy to be effective, the following preconditions are essential. The establishment of: • A Master Plan for land allocation, land use and land development. • A National Land and Geographical Information Centre that will include land

registry and land use planning. • The Rwanda Environment Management which is useful for land use and

land management planning. • Strengthening of close collaboration with international institutions involved in

land issues.

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Furthermore, strategic options shall include: • Elaboration and implementation of the law establishing the land regime in

Rwanda in order to support the National land Policy. • Monitoring of proper use and good management of land. • The institutions which are responsible for the country’s natural resources

should collaborate in order to coordinate and harmonize the rights of the use of natural resources and the regulations for the good use of these resources.

• Establishment and maintenance of a National Land Information Management Centre.

• The capacity of decentralized services shall be strengthened and improved. 5. Malawi 6. Cambodia A number of areas of activity with respect to government’s role in administering and managing land need to be regulated by law. Therefore, the objective of the legislative programme is to make the principles and procedures for land administration, management, and distribution formal, transparent and enforceable, thereby providing equal legal protection to all landholders. The policy is to proceed deliberately with the preparation of legislative Acts which have been identified as needed. Responsibility for development of the text of these sub-decrees rests with MLMUPC but in certain aspects of the content require guidance from the Council of Land Policy. In particular, the government will endeavor to accomplish the following tasks: • In the area of land administration:

a) Enactment of land law, complementary laws, regulations and other related legislations.

b) Operation of the Council for Land Policy. c) Creation of a State land inventory and State land classification system. d) Implementation and operation of a nation-wide land registration system

using both sporadic and systematic registration procedures, including all property, both public and private.

e) Resolution of land disputes through the local Administrative Commission, Provincial/Municipal Land Dispute Settlement Commissions and the court organs.

• In the area of land management

a) Development of land use plans for priority areas including tourism and investment zones, key urban areas and major road corridors.

b) Coordination of land use planning with natural resource management of forests, fisheries, waterways, and mineral deposits in a harmonized legal framework.

c) Decentralization of land management and planning authority to local and provincial authorities, after the establishment of national land use guidelines and supervisory structures.

d) Development of procedures for urban land management and resettlement.

• In the area of land distribution

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a) Execution of a broadly consultative process and pilot projects to create a land distribution strategy for need groups.

b) Prevention of illegal land acquisition and land concentration. In order to achieve these tasks it is envisioned that a long term Land Administration, Management and Distribution Program will be implemented. Important materials for the success of this program include the establishment of accurate geodesic network, aerial photography and base mapping, and up to date land information systems. 7. Swaziland Implementation – Legal Measures Human rights policies Include this matter in the Constitution. Introduce legislation to prohibit gender based allocation and inheritance of land. Amend the marriages Act and the Deeds Registry Act be revised to remove gender bias. Cultural policies: Extend the leasehold to SNL. The 99 year leasehold concept (already being applied in urban areas) is to be extended to rural SNL, the objective being to: • Introduce a form of tenure which is bankable in rural areas and promotes

investment in rural production and shelter. • Encourage the mobilization of financial resources for human settlements

agricultural, commercial and industrial development in rural areas. • Improve the living conditions of people in rural areas. • Promote sustainable land use management.

Land tenure policies: Include security of tenure in the constitution. Introduce a Sectional Titles Act. Land use and land management policies: Revise Human Settlements Authority Act, Building and Housing Act, and Town Planning Act with the view to drafting a single Act to be known as “Physical planning and Development Control Act” and based on this Act, develop a National Development Code. Upgrade professional standards through relevant legislative reforms (Valuers’ Act, Real Estate Agents Act, Engineers, Architects and Surveyors Act) in order to create the much needed credibility and integrity of property-related professionals in smooth functioning of a property market. Land administration policies: Introduce alternative dispute resolution procedures. Introduce a new statue for the implementation of proposed policies.

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Implementation – Institutional Measures: Institutional framework: Establish institutional framework on: • An Institutional hierarchy, authorized and answerable to His Majesty the

King through Cabinet. • Land Management Authority (LMA): LMA’s duties to include:

a) Land administration b) Establishing and coordinating mechanisms and capacities for

managing land use planning at national level. c) Providing or facilitating alternative dispute resolution. d) Resolving land disputes brought before it. e) Create and empower incentives for the creation of the community

development councils. • Existing Authorities: All existing competent authorities (including chiefs in

libandla, farm owners vis a vis farm dwellers, and the councils in urban areas) are to retain their existing authorities. Communications between LMA and the CDCs (Community Development Councils) are to be through the existing competent authorities. However, in the event of any land related dispute, an appeal lies at first recourse to the LMA and subsequently to either the High court of His Majesty as appropriate to the context of the dispute.

• Community Development councils (CDCs): These communities are to be the vehicles for the application of community participation, accountability and transparency in land administration.

Land information system: Good land resource management is dependent on efficient gathering and production of effective land related information. Sectors involved in this are: survey and mapping, registration, valuation, allocation, planning and environmental management. In essence this means the application of computer technology, and an integrated, corporate approach is necessary because land information is dispersed across numerous Ministries and organizations. • Land information management strategic plan: Although driven by individual

need, each of the Ministries of Housing and Urban Development, Natural Resources Environment and Energy, and Justice recognized the need for a strategic, integrated plan for Land information Management.

• Institutional implications: As Land Information Management (LIM) cuts across current Ministerial and departmental boundaries; the LMA is the natural home for LIM committee hierarchy. The Ministry of Finance Computer Section might be the logical home for a LIM secretariat.

8. Zambia In order to implement the Policy, the Government will adopt a strategy that involves all stakeholders in a participatory and inclusive manner. The thrust of implementation measures will call for the Ministry responsible for land to take a leading role and for close inter-institutional collaboration with land related public institutions; strengthening enforcement of public land use laws and regulations. Resource mobilization and financing:

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For the implementation of the policy to be successful in a sustainable manner, the following will be the sources of funds: National Treasury; Revenue from various fees charged by the Ministry responsible for land; Cooperating partners; Private sector; and NGOs. Monitoring and Evaluation: In order to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the policy, government will: • Establish an integrated system of monitoring and evaluation, and • Develop monitoring and evaluating instruments for the implementation of the

land policy. 9. Namibia The Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation has the primary responsibility for the implementation for the National Land Policy. This duty will be performed in close consultation with other Ministries, including: the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (with reference to land use planning), the Ministry of Regional and Local Government and Housing (with reference to urban and regional planning, Regional Councils and Local Authorities), and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (with reference to regional planning, investment incentives schemes, export processing zones and the relationship of credit to land rights).

References

1) National Land Policy secretariat, (March 2007), National Land policy - The Formulation Process, Nairobi, Kenya.

2) GoT (Government of Tanzania), 1997. The National Land Policy, Second Edition, Printed by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

3) Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, (January, 2007). Drafting the National Land Policy – Working Draft 3, Kampala, Uganda.

4) Ministry of Lands, Environment, Forests, Water and Mines, (February 2005). National Land Policy, Kigali, Rwanda.

5) Ministry of Lands, Physical Planning and Surveys, 2002. Malawi National Land Policy, 17th January 2002.

6) Kingdom of Cambodia, Strategy of Land policy Framework, Interim Paper, Approved by Council of Ministers on September 06, 2002.

7) Government of Swaziland, The Draft National Land Policy. February 2004. www.ecs.co.sz/land_policy/land_policy_chapter..

8) The Republic of Zambia (October 2006). Draft Land Administration and Management Policy, ministry of Lands. Lusaka, Zambia.

9) Republic of Namibia, (1998). National Land Policy, Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and rehabilitation, April 1998.