State of Land Information Reports Unveil Insights on Botswana and Zambia

Two comprehensive State of Land Information (SOLI) reports have been released, providing in-depth assessments of the land data and information ecosystems in Botswana and Zambia. These reports examine the availability of land information and evaluate its compliance with open data standards. The findings highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each country's land information management practices and offer insights for targeted interventions.

State of Land Information in Botswana: An Open Data Assessment

The SOLI report on Botswana delves into the current state of land data in the country, assessing the accessibility of land information and its alignment with open data principles. The report serves as a diagnostic tool, shedding light on areas that require improvement in the land information ecosystem.

The report's first section focuses on Botswana's legal framework for data governance, exploring both international and national commitments to access information and instruments for data and information governance. The second section examines the availability of land data and information provided by government organizations responsible for land administration. This assessment is organized into six key land data categories. Finally, the report evaluates the openness of the information by assessing it against ten criteria for open data, following international best practices.

Key conclusions from the report reveal that Botswana lacks access to information legislation, and its Constitution does not explicitly guarantee public access to non-personal information. Much of the land-related and general information legislation in Botswana emphasizes confidentiality, resulting in a low score for the openness of government data and information. Overall, there is limited open land data and information in the country. While legal and policy data are partially open, other categories such as land tenure, land value, and land development data are not open at all. Efforts are needed to make agricultural and mining data fully open.

Furthermore, Botswana currently lacks an enabling legal framework for open data and information. While there are no clauses or sections referring to access to information in the land sector legislation, the Statistics Act does provide for the dissemination of public information.

State of Land Information in Zambia: An Open Data Assessment

The SOLI report on Zambia offers a comprehensive analysis of the current state of land data in the country, evaluating the availability of land information and its compliance with open data standards. The report aims to identify sources of land data or information generated by the Zambian government or public institutions involved in land governance, acting as a diagnostic tool for targeted interventions.

The report's first section examines Zambia's legal framework for data governance and opening up information, considering the country's international and national commitments to access information and the instruments for data and information governance. The second section assesses the availability of land data and information provided by the Zambian public sector entity responsible for land administration, organized into six key land data categories. The third section evaluates the openness of this information based on ten criteria for open data.

Conclusions drawn from the report reveal that land data and information in Zambia are partially open, with some progress made since 2016. Legal and policy data are considered fully open, while land use data is partially open but requires further accessibility improvements. Land tenure, land development, and land valuation data are only partially open, indicating the need for improvements across all openness criteria. On the positive side, related environment, energy, mineral rights, public procurement, and statistical data are fully open and available from relevant organizations.

Zambia has comprehensive legal data governance frameworks, including the Statistics Act, Electronic Government Act, Data Protection Act, Electronic Communications Act, and Cyber Security and Cyber-Crimes Act, which collectively support good data governance, access to information, data protection, and digitization efforts.

The SOLI reports on Botswana and Zambia provide valuable insights into the state of land information in these countries, highlighting areas for improvement in data governance, openness, and digitization efforts. The findings aim to support targeted interventions and enhance the management and accessibility of land data, fostering transparency, and informed decision-making in the respective land sectors.

Download the State of Land Information in Botswana

Download the State of Land Information in Zambia

About SOLI 

The State of Land Information (SOLI) research and reports seek to provide an overview of publicly available data and information on key land issues. The aim of the research is to uncover the many different sources of land data and information at the country-level and help to identify actual data and information gaps, with a view to establishing a baseline for targeted interventions to improve the information ecosystem. 

Our robust methodology demonstrates not only trends and gaps in land data collection, but functions as a practical guide in support of improved visibility and usability of land data and information. SOLI reports serve as the first step in the implementation of the Open Up Guide for Land Governance. 

In 2021, we kicked off SOLI research in five countries in Africa. We aim to develop SOLI reports for a dozen countries in Africa by 2024.