Governability Of Customary Land Tenure Institutions: Insights From Odupongkpehe Customary Area In Ghana

Land in Ethiopia is held by the state and the people; while landholders guaranteed a lifetime ‘holding’ right (any right except sell and mortgage per se). Women have equal rights to men in the formal legal system, despite, in pastoral areas, women’s land rights are highly influenced by religious and customary systems: rights are meaningless unless they are socially recognized and effectively enforced. Studies on women’s land rights comparing between formal and customary land laws are rare.

This paper presents empirical evidences of cultural barriers to women and the youths in accessing family land among the Ndali tribe, drawing insights on the cultural practices and social norms. The evidence emanates from discussions with local leaders: members of Village Land Councils and members of the Village Councils from six villages namely Itumba, Isongole, Nyenzebwe, Mlale, Ilulu and Izuba.

Context and backgroundIn common with other African countries, colonization had an important impact on land relations in Uganda. Land is an important asset for people’s livelihoods and for economic development in Uganda, where the majority of people live in rural areas. Uganda’s land reform was introduced with the 1998 Land Act, which aims at enhancing tenure security by recognising existing rights to land. Furthermore, the evidence of any links between the formalisation of land rights, investment and productivity under different tenure systems is inconclusive.

Securing And Managing Community Land: Lessons From Kenya

National Land Coalitions (NLCs) work towards the recognition, defence, protection and redistribution of land rights at national level. They build upon frameworks on land tenure developed and agreed by different regional and intergovernmental institutions. Platforms are at the heart of protecting and preserving community and customary lands which constitute the major category of landholding in Africa.

Rwanda is recognized as a global land governance leader due to the success of its Land Tenure Regularisation Program (LTRP), which resulted in the registration of over 11 million parcels and the issuance of 7 million certificates of title, and the establishment of the Land Administration Information System (LAIS). These notable achievements have contributed to land market viability, reductions in land disputes, and increased land-based revenue.

The wave of formalization of indigenous and Community land rights has been witnessed across many African countries. This could partly be in response to the Africa Union declaration on land issues and challenges in Africa. Under the declaration, member states are urged to review their land sectors, with a view to develop comprehensive policies, which take into account peculiar needs.

Women make essential contributions to agriculture by playing a large role in food crop production. They require land as source of rural livelihood and monetary strengthening through land right security. Women’s ownership of land and property can be potentially transformative, not only as a store of value, but also as a means of acquiring other assets and engaging in a range of markets. However, women have lower access to productive resources (land and capital) compared to their male counterparts.

In many African societies, there are various forms and levels of cultural gender infringement of human rights and property denials. Over the years, these violations become well-established through cultural gender conjectures.  Perhaps, nowhere in Nigeria is this property rights violation more pronounced and evident than in the Igboland, the south-eastern part of the country. Conjectures such as women do not own land (nwanyi adighi enwe ala), another man’s compound (ama onye ozo) amongst others depict the social classification of women in southeastern communities.

Context and background: Real Property Valuation is the most essential activity in administering land and other real properties. Undertaking valuation is also important to enhance revenue of the country. Different types of property valuation methods applied on the basis of property type and purpose of valuation. Conducting systematic valuation is the base for levying tax.

Context and backgroundArtisanal mining has long been integral part of livelihood structure and economic systems of certain rural communities. Artisanal mining operates informally in developing countries coupled with social, environmental, and economic challenges. Formalization of artisanal mining is being adopted in many countries in order to tackle the challenges of artisanal mining.