The heritage of
colonialism – bad land administration and inequitable tenurial access –
is now being addressed by African leaders.
This is good news.
Undoubtedly, a well-articulated Land Policy Initiative (LPI) bodes well
for Africa, inasmuch as most post-colonial conflicts on the continent,
with their additional burdens of refugees, disease, hunger, internal
migrations and brain drain can be traced to remote or proximate sources
around inequity and naked injustice over land and natural resources.
In March, 2006, the
consortium of the African Union Commission (AUC), the United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the African Development
Bank (AfDB) launched a joint Land Policy Initiative.
This initiative
concluded with the endorsement of a Framework and Guidelines on Land
Policy in Africa, and the adoption of a Declaration on Land issues and
challenges in Africa by the African Union Heads of State and Government
in July 2009 at Sirte, Libya. At that 13th Ordinary Session, member
states were urged by the Heads of States and Government of the African
Union to review their land sectors with a view to developing
comprehensive policies which take into account their peculiar needs;
build adequate human, financial, technical capacities to support land
policy development and implementation; take note of the steps outlined
in the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa for their
national land policy development and implementation strategies The
overall objective of this continent-wide, land policy development is
the definition, under wide consultation of a framework for land policy
and land reforms in Africa to strengthen land rights, enhance
productivity and secure livelihoods. Specifically, the Land Policy
Initiative will document key land issues and challenges in the
continent, develop guidelines for consultations and consensus building
between stakeholders.
There is cautious
optimism on the project’s potential to provide a basis for regional
convergence in the sustainable management of cross-border resources.
Key success factors of the LPI will depend on the development of
operational measures to enhance political and financial commitment of
African decision-makers, as well as the development partners in
prioritizing the process and implementation of land policies, and the
tracking of progress.
To demonstrate the
urgent importance of the LPI, a joint secretariat and trust fund are
already established. Both continental and regional consultative
mechanisms have also been set in motion to facilitate the process. Two
related workshops took place in Malawi and Burkina Faso, in November
and December, 2010 respectively So, what next?
The real issues of
land unfold outside of the conference halls that declare and define
policy. Given the delicacy and difficulty of land tenure, no one is
under the illusion that putting the AU Declaration into action will be
a walk in the park. It is however an opportunity for collaborators,
critics and cynics to get involved by assisting to document and
disseminate best practices, creating regional and even national
platforms for debate, experience-sharing, and reviewing what is on
paper, on the basis of lessons learned from the field. This is actually
what decentralization of governance and devolution of powers in a
democracy implies.
Global warming and
climate change concerns will put a new spin, if not impose fresh
responsibility on people and governments to manage land sustainably in
Africa. More technical actors from within and outside of Africa will be
involved, and it is the duty of those African experts and politicians
attending international conferences to break down the science and
politics of climate change, inform and educate their people on the
technologies and legal processes to avoid the insecurity of food, water
resources and land tenure.
