Accra — Traditional leaders from across Africa have embraced a joint ECA-AU and AfDB recommendation for large-scale land based investments (LSLBIs) to be made more sustainable and protective of the land rights of local communities.
In a communiqué issued Thursday at the close of a two-day seminar organized in Accra by the Land Policy Initiative (LPI) to sensitize traditional leaders on the risks and opportunities of LSLBIs, the leaders expressed their willingness to promote and protect land rights.
"As traditional leaders we embrace the AU Guiding Principles on LSLBIs, which were presented to us... We call upon our national land authorities to promote investment models, which do not require the transfer of land from our local communities to investors, and do not lead to displacement of our villages and homes, and destruction of our ancestral cultural places."
The communiqué also made special reference to the land rights of women:
"We commit to contribute to strengthening the land rights of African women. Women should be fully involved in all land matters. Their prior consent is required in all land transactions. We adhere to the AU campaign of at least 30% of documented land rights for African women."
The seminar targeted traditional leaders, given that land rights in most African communities are customary law based and are governed by traditional institutions. The leaders were therefore equipped with key principles for negotiating land investment deals that are sustainable and beneficial to local communities.
The leaders called on LPI to continue facilitating relevant dialogue platforms on land, and to always involve them in regional and continental activities related to the implementation of the AU Agenda on land.
Joan Kagwanja, Chief of the Land Policy Initiative Section of ECA, described the leaders' determination as a significant step in the right direction.
"This communiqué by traditional leaders indicating commitment towards investments that adhere to the AU Guiding Principles on LSLBIs is historic," said Ms. Kagwanja. "We will do our best to support their proposal for a platform to engage traditional leaders in land policy processes at all levels."
Participants came from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Madagascar, Niger, Uganda and Zambia. The two-day event was also attending by Ghana's minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Nii Osah Mills.
The seminar was part of several activities being carried out by the LIP under the auspices of the AUC, AfDB and ECA, to provide guidance to African governments, traditional leaders and other stakeholders on how to make land related investments benefit local people and economies.
