In what is bound to be a historic development in Tanzania, Africa and much of the rest of the world, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has committed her government to “empowering” women on land-related issues.

As part of wider efforts to functionally and effectively champion women’s rights in the name of justice and gender equality, President Hassan has solemnly pledged to ensure that women in Tanzania readily access “economic rights and justice”.

Land grabs facilitated by multinational corporations, foreign investors and local governments in a pursuit for agribusiness have been escalating during the last decade. Huge acquisitions of farmland have led to violent displacements of rural populations. Although reports of the practice are not as recurrent in the media, the problem is far from over.

AS President Samia Suluhu Hassan meets representative of various groups of Tanzanian society, herders have come out with a call that they should not be forgotten because they have longstanding pressing issues worthy of a presidential audience.

He said such a meeting will enable the president to recognize their plight including in being disregarded by political leaders who hand out wrong instructions to them as if livestock keeping activities have no contribution to the national economy.

In May 2021, the numbers of households whose land rights have been secured with the support by the Global Programme Responsible Land Policy have reached a peak: Thanks to the hard work of our partners and project teams, 110.163 households had their land legally documented by then, corresponding to about  550.000 people directly benefitting.

Dar es Salaam. Land acquisition by investors is said to be one of the major causes of land disputes in Tanzania - especially when locals are not involved in the processes.

Some leaders at the village level offer lands to prospective investors without getting approval from village authorities in accordance with the Village Land Act of 1999.

This, to a large extent, has been sparking land disputes, which normally result in stagnation of investment in the area and at times leading to violation of human rights.

Kiryandongo – Uganda – As natives continue to resist illegal evictions, multinational companies opt to hire livestock as a new tactic to forcefully evict smallholder farmers from their land.

The Government in 2017 put in place Guidelines for Compensation Assessment under Land Acquisition Act.

These proposals are for reform of laws relating to land acquisition by the Government, and they include the amendment to the Land Acquisition Act (Cap 226) in order to bring it into conformity with Article 26 of the Constitution of Uganda. This has remained a big concern among the citizens who lack clarity and specificity on how to deal with land acquisition issues.

The majority of Kenyans are perturbed by the high cost of seeking justice in the Environment and Land court, a new survey shows.

The study by the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI) shows that nearly nine in ten Kenyans (86 percent) see the cost as high, effectively making it difficult for them to secure justice.

Lengthy litigation at Kenya’s courts increases legal and court fees paid by litigants to courts or layers.

“However, 14 percent of the respondents felt the cost of seeking justice was affordable,” the LDGI report says.

To most people, acquiring land in Uganda comes with a justified dread of having to navigate a rather tenuous sea of uncertainty regarding what rules they will have to play by, both during and after acquiring property.

Treasury CS Ukur Yatani has boosted President Uhuru Kenyatta’s election pledge to issue titled deeds with a Sh1.5 billion allocating for processing and registration of the documents.

Further, Mr Yatani set aside Sh600 million for digitisation of land registries, a move expected to speed up the processing and issuance of title deeds and a further Sh105 million for the construction of land registries.

A major project reform in Lebanon at the cadastre and land register department level has started with the support and cooperation of the French development agency and the expertise of France, via the FEXTE project that funds technical cooperation programmes and project-preparation studies in developing countries.

Despite the current situation given the COVID-19 pandemic, the Order of Surveyors and Topographers of Lebanon insists on monitoring its activities within the general framework of the profession, especially at the level of national and international partnership.

Nayiare Noonkiba does not stand out from other Maasai women in Mara North despite the powerful position she holds in her community. 

An owner of huge swathes of land, a leader and a women's rights advocate across the Mara conservancies, Noonkiba's influence in her community is unmatched. 

At Nashulai Conservancy, Noonkiba sits on the powerful land control board. She also owns land in five conservancies dotting the Mara.