Land reform is a political necessity in South Africa;but since 1994 it has encountered many difficulties and progress has been slow. Elites have captured many of the benefits. A recent CBPEP study chaired by Ben Cousins focused on the potential contribution of redistributive land reform to employment creation. It breaks new ground.
Chapter in a book;“Rethinking land reform in Africa;opportunities and challenges” by the African Natural Resources Centre;edited by Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng for the African Development Bank. A think piece reflecting on changing commercial pressures on land in low and middle-income countries; the role of law in shaping the ways those pressures manifest themselves; the limits of business standards in driving systemic change; and the case for comprehensive law reform to secure rural land rights.
The author has now run this site as an absolute dictator for 20 years;first in Oxfam space (2000-12) and since 2012 in Mokoro space. The article covers the origins of the site;the various motivations and the important role of changing technologies. The site is essentially a place to disseminate arguments in favour of pro-poor land reform and against simple solutions to complex issues. After the 2008 global financial crisis it included work on the impact of the global land grab on Africa.
A study commissioned by IIED. With less than 20 percent of landholdings in Uganda currently registered;land governance is at the forefront of a profound change as customary land is demarcated and registered. A key challenge is to ensure the equitability of this process involving gender and social equality;the protection of the poor and vulnerable comprising children and the disabled;and the environment.
An encouraging story about how four communities regained control of their lands acquired by the Bioshape jatropha plantation in Kilwa District. Contains the Bioshape investment and the local response; from community-centred dialogue to government commitments; a reason to celebrate; next steps: consolidating community land tenure in Kilwa and Tanzania.
Covers: land law revision; President starts land law consultation – with battle over privatisation expected; contradictions put a progressive land law under pressure. By 2018 the Norwegian company Green Resourcesland grab had given it 369,000 ha in Mozambique;which it finally admits it cannot handle and now proposes to give most of it back to the communities it was taken from. A consultation on the revision of the 25-year-old land law was launched by President Filipe Nyusi on 16 July 2020 but it will be controversial.
On 5 March 2021 the Namibian Ministry of Land Reform issued 988 land holder titles to nine associations in Freedom Square;an informal settlement in Gobabis municipality;with an additional 122 to be printed in due course. This is a huge milestone to the residents of Freedom Square and to the stakeholders championing the improvement of tenure security of middle and low-income groups residing in different informal settlements of Namibia.
A review of a book on land in Kenya published in 2020 by Boydell and Brewer Ltd. The reviewer offers a detailed analysis and discussion of the 8 chapters of this 224-page book. The chapters are entitled: introduction: what we talk about when we talk about land; land reform in Kenya: the history of an idea; making mischief: land in modern Kenya; land and constitutional change; the new institutional framework for land governance; land governance before the Supreme Court; rethinking historical land injustices; taking justice seriously.
A nationwide awareness campaign on the dissemination of information on the Land Rights Act (LRA) and the Liberia Land Authority Act (LLAA) has begun across Liberia with a focus on communication;the laws;women’s rights and community engagements.
The 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa opened with a resounding call for African countries to develop pro-poor land policies and inclusive land tenure rights;particularly for women and youth. Anything related to land needs strong political will;people buy-in;and close collaboration. Climate change has raised the risk of deforestation and land degradation. In recent years;a surge in the purchase of African land by foreign companies and governments to grow food and other crops for export has also set alarm bells ringing on and off the continent.
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