Date: February 21st 2016
Source: AllAfrica.com / The Citizen
EDITORIAL
Land disputes involving farmers, pastoralists and investors have been plaguing Tanzania for years.
Cases are numerous in land tribunals and even the High Court. So serious are such misunderstandings that people have been killed or injured, livestock wounded, homes set alight, farms destroyed and hostilities lingered.
In many parts of the country, locals have been suspicious of investors who have taken large tracts of land for agricultural or energy projects. Protests against evictions are common. Attempts to end such challenges have failed.
However, the government has announced that it will in April embark on an audit to identify undeveloped pieces of land exceeding 50 acres. Under the assessment, land that will be found idle will be repossessed and re-allocated as part of wider efforts to ensure equitable distribution of the resource.
The audit is part of the $15.2 million three-year Land Tenure Support Programme (LTSP) supported by Denmark, Sweden and the UK. The government believes that LTSP will help to add value to land and attract more investors who will create employment. The government will start with a pilot project covering Ulanga and Kilombero districts in Morogoro Region before rolling over the programme to other areas.
Authorities hope that the three-year plan will raise the level of awareness on land issues. On Thursday, the government said it intended to issue 1.2 million land ownership certificates by 2020. The government has also promised foreign and local investors seeking land that they will be able to secure title deeds within seven days.
Although the audit is long overdue we support the government for its efforts to end land conflicts.
Causes of the conflicts are known. A Parliamentary select committee tasked with checking widespread land conflicts more than a year ago established that weak law enforcement, contradictory legal regimes and ineffective and incompetent leaders were the major factors driving the disputes.
Contradictory principles
The committee said several guiding principles contradicted each other. It cited the 1997 land policy, which is out of synch with the 2006 livestock course of action.
While the land policy outlaws pastoralism, the livestock policy allows it, leading to clashes in some areas, according to the parliamentary team. It was also established that conflicts pitting villagers against investors largely sprang from moves to enable investors to get land.
One law says that investors who need land should enter into business ventures through the Tanzania Investment Centre but the Land Act reportedly also gives the Lands ministry powers to rope in investors at the same time. The committee also faulted the government for failing to survey land.
Out of more than 10,000 villages, only about 1,200 villages have been surveyed and only a handful have good land use plans. This problem is compounded by lack of strong institutions to supervise the implementation of land use plans.
We call on the government to work on last year's report by the House committee and find a lasting solution to land disputes. It should protect poor people against grabbers.
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