Kigali — Proper management of the pluralistic systems of land tenure in Africa are essential for peace and stability on the continent, delegates at a United Nations-backed meeting in Kigali were told on Wednesday.

The majority of conflicts in Africa, and indeed around the world, are related to failures in systems related to the governance, control and use of land and natural resources," Josue Dione, Director for food security and sustainable development at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said.

The Regional Consultative Workshop on Land Policy in East Africa is taking place in Kigali, Rwanda from January 16-18. Delegates are from 13 countries including the five east African partners are attending the workshop.

Mr. Dione said that for Africa to fully address land issues, the pluralistic systems of land tenure, whether traditional or legislative, must be properly managed.

Legal or illegal?

The workshop comes in the wake of a brewing row in Uganda between the central government and some communities over land. Through a new land bill, Government there wants to move control and ownership of land from the land lords to the Ministry of local government.

This essentially means that no land lord will be able to kick off any tenant from their land except with the consent of government.

Government argues that the bill will prevent mass evictions but critics say the central government wants to take away their land and hand it to investors.

In Rwanda, as small a territory as it is, there have been reported cases where senior military and government officials own large chunks of land at the expense of the surrounding communities. In some instances, people have been moved off their land that was instead left undeveloped.

In the spotlight was President Paul Kagame himself. But he told the nation in September last year the he acquired his vast expanse of land in the eastern province "legally".

"I got my land legally and actually am one of the very few that have land titles", Mr. Kagame told a press briefing in Kigali. "In fact it is about 43 or 42 acres not 40 as you have claimed".

There had been speculation that it would be difficult for local government officials to end land wrangles especially in eastern province where several senior military officers have country homes and farms.

Mr. Kagame established a commission involving the military and the line-Ministry of Lands to come up with a solution. He ordered that by December last year, the problem should be over.

"The underlying principle is not that people should not own land...I am against people having more then they need when some people do not even have anything", Kagame said then. "Some people have big pieces and just fence it off with nothing invested there."

The United Nations official said yesterday that the Kigali workshop should therefore provide guidance to Governments on legal and institutional mechanisms of ensuring an effective coexistence of formal and customary systems of land tenure.

Mr. Harold Liversage, from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said the main challenges currently facing land policy in Africa are to translate some of the new policy guidelines that are emerging into practical results on the ground, and the need to balance the needs for social justice and economic growth.

ECA, the African Union (AU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are jointly working on a Land Policy Initiative to support efforts by African Governments to formulate and implement land policy and institutional reforms.

The Initiative recognizes the central role of multi-stakeholder consultations aimed at gaining consensus on the key elements that should constitute the framework, guidelines, benchmark and indicators for land policy and institutional reforms.

Critical steps include: a continental consultative workshop; an expert group meeting on benchmarks and indicators; regional assessments and consultations; a continental meeting of African experts and ministers responsible for land; and an AU Heads of State and Government summit.

Land titles

Under a new land reform strategy, people that claim ownership of pieces of land will be issued with land titles in the next five years. Government says that national land tenure reforms will be executed in a four-phased plan that begun in 2005.

During the first phase which started in 2005, relevant land legislation was enacted. The next three phases are set to take seven years. This is the period in which there will be implementation and formulation of the five-year action plan.

Preliminary test on the policy has been carried out in the districts of Gasabo (Kigali), Karongi (Western Province) and Musanze (Northern Province). The strategy is due to be forwarded to Parliament, cabinet and donors for validation. (End)