Paper issued to address Land Policy

Posted Oct 25, 2008

Zambia Land Alliance (ZLA) working together with other Civil Society Organizations recently released a position paper to address the gaps identified in the draft Land Policy of October 2006, to modify what has been highlighted as counter-productive, and to strengthen what has been found to be adequate. The paper also provides an opportunity for Government and civil society to work towards a policy that addresses the needs of all Zambians.

“ZLA was given the mandate to take on this responsibility by the National Civil Society Consultative (NCSC) Meeting on the draft Land Policy which was held on 21st and 22nd August 2007 at Cresta Golf View Hotel in Lusaka,” said Henry Machina, Executive Director, ZLA speaking on behalf of civil society.

Limitations
After a thorough analysis of the draft Land Policy, ZLA has identified several major areas that need improvement. Firstly, Machina said to have an effective Land Policy, ZLA proposes key values which would enhance the process and development of a land policy. These values include: participation, inclusiveness, timeliness and professionalism, gender sensitivity, innovation, cost effectiveness, and most importantly poverty reduction. The current draft Land Policy doesn’t reflect these values. He also reiterated that the policy’s vision, though powerful, is not reflected throughout the policy.

The rationale of the policy also raised concerns within ZLA. “It is implied in the rationale section, that not enough is done to let all citizens be given title to their land. Also that switching customary land to leasehold title would reduce poverty,” said Machina. “However, there is no evidence that the drive to ensure that rural citizens get titles to their customary holdings will have the desired result of reducing rural poverty.”

Machina feels the draft Land Policy’s rationale should include guidelines for the good governance of land, socio-economic development for the people of Zambia, resolution of contentious land issues and provisions for justice and security in land. Also that there is need for all Zambian men and women to understand and enjoy their rights to land and to fully participate in making decisions on how their land is to be administered.

“Though civil society endorses the spirit of collaboration and participation proposed for the implementation of the Land Policy, the policy provides little or no guidelines on how the implementation will actually be done. ZLA suggests the creation of a Land Reform Unit to implement and monitoring land administration and a National Land Commission to oversee land allocation and administration,” said Machina.

Way Forward
Finally, Machina called on Government to revise and align the draft land policy before it is made into law, conduct a national land audit to determine how much land is left in the country, disseminate the draft Land Policy in the media and discuss the draft at public meetings. In addition, he proposes that comments on the draft policy from the public must be gathered and a National Conference should be held so that all Zambians can have a say in their Land Policy.