OP-ED: LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL LANDS POLICY
Government of the Republic of Zambia launched a National Lands Policy in a bid to streamline land administration and management services in the development of the country. The National Lands Policy has been put forward to improve land administration and management in order to place the country’s land development on a sustainable path. Since independence, land administration in Zambia has lacked an adequate policy framework as the country only operated on fragmented policy pronouncements by Government. A comprehensive land policy framework was only developed in the year 2000 when Government started initiatives to consult various stakeholders in order to come up with a Land Policy.
The Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) would like to commend Government for the launch of the 2021 National Lands Policy which has come at an opportune time following the challenges highlighted within the National Lands Policy that retarded social progress, such as indiscriminate use of land and poor land development practices. The rationale of the National Lands Policy is to address such challenges and provide a roadmap for the sustainable management of natural resources, environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is envisaged that the policy will provide an opportunity for every
Zambian to access and secure their interests in land regardless of their status and will also strengthen security of tenure and enhance management of land resources.
PMRC would also like to applaud the Government for revising the legal age for citizens to own land from 21 to 18 years. Within PMRC’s publication on Land Tenure and Resource Rights for Women and Youths, the contractual age of 21 years in which one would obtain land in Zambia was high, taking into account the increase in child headed households and the number of unemployed youths. The reduction in the contractual age is in line with making land accessible to the youths which would empower them further to venture into agricultural activities, vital in propelling the economy to greater heights.
Additionally, by driving the inclusivity agenda, women and persons with disabilities have been given special recognition in the National Lands Policy as key target groups in the ownership of land. This has significant implications in ensuring that women and persons with disabilities have access and ownership to land. Land rights have been a major concern among women who are faced with various challenges in land ownership as traditionally men were considered the land owners resulting in women forfeiting their properties in an event of death or divorce of a spouse. However, this has changed and the policy will ensure that more women exercise their land rights.
Last year, Government launched the National Land Titling program, which going forward will see the issuance of four million land titles across the country, as compared to the three hundred thousand as of 2020. The Land Titling program will ensure that private individuals are given formal property rights for land which they have previously occupied informally or used on the basis of customary land tenure. The launch of the program will increase the issuance of land titles which will protect property rights, facilitate land transactions (land conveyance in sale, donation or assignment), and will enable land to be used as loan collateral which will facilitate equity and development. The rolling out of the Land Titling program and simplification of the land titling procedure will also ensure that more women obtain documentation for their land that they can use as collateral. This consequently will result in further empowering women, the youth and persons with disabilities to access credit and capital to finance their business ideas through formal institutions such as banks and other credit facilities.
Furthermore, the policy seeks to secure land for citizens by limiting the land tenure for foreign investors. This is a commendable effort by the Government, as land is not only a critical resource of production but is also a geopolitical space that equally speaks to our heritage as Zambians. The policy has been long overdue as the land management and administration in the country has faced challenges due to the lack of a comprehensive legal framework to govern its management holistically. We would like to thank Government for its wide consultative process in delivering a sound policy that has been accepted by traditional leaders who equally play a critical role in preserving this important resource, taking into consideration their concerns, as 94% of the land is vested in the traditional authorities. Lastly, we urge Government to implement the National Lands Policy expeditiously as it will provide a roadmap for land administration in Zambia.