Women, Land and Corruption is a collection of unique articles and research findings that describe and analyse the prevalence of land corruption in Africa — and its disproportionate effect on women — pr

IN’s latest resource is an introduction to the topic Land and Water Grabbing: A discussion of integrity implications and related risks, which discusses the integrity implications and risks of land and water grabbing. The essay examines the link between land and water grabbing, the people that are most impacted by this, and legal frameworks related to both land and water rights. Land and Water Grabbing describes the impacts of land and water grabbing in Kenya and Ethiopia.

In many countries, unidentified private individuals and legal entities obtain significant economic benefits from land. This lack of transparency can make it harder for affected communities and governments to hold them accountable for land use decision-making and any sort of violation they commit. It can also leave investors open to risk if they do not know who is truly behind a company they are doing business with. 

Includes land rights and conflict, humanitarian challenges, the political and legal framework, economic reform and governance issues, human rights and humanitarian organisations in Angola, corruption and forced evictions, the demobilisation process, rural land grabs, recommendations.

Includes government custodianship of public land, what land is targeted?, how do Kenya’s elites access land?, identifying the impacts and victims of the land-grabbing phenomenon, policy developments and current debates on Kenya’s land question.

Includes why is secure access to land important; secure property rights, economic growth and social justice; the scale of insecure access to land; political contestation; the role of donors; IIED v FIG, contrasting ways of looking at land issues; governance and corruption; recourse to legal remedies; struggling for urban survival; aid instruments; lessons and recommendations from the literature – the IIED school, FAO and EU guidelines.

Attempts to fill a gap by providing a pragmatic instrument which can be applied quickly and with comparatively few resources. Focuses on corruption risks rather than searching for offenders, so allowing open discussion, and on structural corruption risks and related solutions. Encourages coalitions between all crucial stakeholders and helps them develop joint counter-measures. Includes case studies from Kenya.

Unprecedented pressures on land and its governance have been created. Covers land, governance and corruption: the linkages; evidence and consequences – administrative and political corruption; actors and forms of corruption; measures and responses; data analysis.

Contains 6 chapters: introduction, accountability issues in urban land management, transparency and accountability in communal land management, corruption and land reform programmes, accountability issues in large scale land deals, gender, youths and land corruption. The findings show that land governance is fragmented creating opportunities for corruption in and across institutions.

Despite increasing attention in recent years, little evidence has been available on the issue of women, land and corruption in Africa to inform effective policy-making. There has been no compilation of relevant background information, lessons learnt and approaches to tackling land corruption as it affects women. This publication aims to address that gap, providing practitioners and decision-makers with a compendium of research findings, contextual information and practical solutions to help fulfil women’s land rights.

Examines the link between land and water grabbing, the people that are most impacted by this, and legal frameworks related to both land and water rights. Describes the impacts of land and water grabbing in Kenya and Ethiopia. Examines integrity risks in the Ethiopian government’s leasing of land and water resources to foreign investors, and the land reform process in Kenya after the launch of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution. This summary document identifies how powerful actors are taking control of land and water resources at the expense of poorer, local communities.

About the webinar

Corruption in the land sector affects every second citizen in Africa, with devastating impacts for individuals, communities and the development of fragile nations. Transparency International has adopted a range of community-led initiatives, which are helping to amplify the voices of women and men affected by land corruption and push for change to systems, structures, practices and cultural norms that allow corruption to flourish in the land sector.