On September 19, Liberian President George Manneh Weah signed into law the Land Rights Bill (LRB), a landmark piece of legislation that recognizes the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to their customary lands and gives customary land the same standing as private land in Liberia.
As members of the land community, we know that access to a stable and flourishing piece of land, even the smallest plot or parcel, has the potential to be ground-breaking and life-changing. It means the difference between health and illness, between being read and illiterate, and in the most extreme cases, the difference between being fed and hungry. In essence, it determines one’s life path, the key factor between qualifying for essential government services and living at the peripheries and margins of society.
This past December marked seven years since the start of the Arab Spring, one of the most “viral” revolutions of our time. In a matter of months, uprisings spread quickly from Tunisia to Yemen and changed the landscape of the region. While the causes and effects of the Arab Spring have been the subject of thorough analysis over the years, the revolutions emerged so quickly and with such force, in part, because of very palpable, muffled disillusionment.
By Mike Powell, Development Information Specialist, facilitator of monitoring and evaluative processes with the Land Portal and volunteer member of its Technical Advisory Group
By Chris Jochnick, President and CEO of Landesa
The development community has experienced various “revolutions” over the years – from microfinance to women’s rights, from the green revolution to sustainable development. Each of these awakenings has improved our understanding of the challenges we face; each has transformed the development landscape, mostly for the better.
The Rethinking Expropriation Law initiative hosted a Conference on Compensation for Expropriation in Cape Town, South Africa on December 7-9, 2016. The final session of the Conference took place on December 9 and aimed at discussing the development of a protocol on fair compensation.
For the final session in Cape Town, scholars, judges, activists, and government officials from around the world sat together to provide input on what guidance and principles should be included in the protocol on fair compensation.
In Ghana, land is an indispensable asset. It’s a source of livelihood and social identity, and men and women should have equal opportunities to benefit from it. But when entrenched patriarchy tips the power scales, and corruption reinforces cultural norms, the impact on women can be devastating.
A recent survey reveals that one in three Ghanaians have been asked to pay a bribe for land-related services in recent years. The study was done by the Ghana Integrity Initiative, the local chapter of Transparency International in Ghana.
Exciting news! Ashoka, the International Anti-Corruption Conference and Transparency International have teamed up to launch the first ChangemakerXchange in Southern Africafrom 2 – 5 October in Johannesburg, South Africa.
