Transcript Slide 1

LAND REFORM PROCESS IN
MALAWI
Paper Presented at the Decision
Makers Meeting on Good
Administration of Lands
Windhoek, Namibia
7-8 December, 2006
OUTLINE
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INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
AN OVERVIEW OF PROBLEMS IN THE LAND SECTOR IN
MALAWI
RATIONALE FOR THE NATIONAL LAND POLICY
POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
POLICY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
CHALLENGES
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
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Majority of malawians are rural based and are
largely dependent on agriculture, and therefore
on land, for their livelihood.
Poor access to land and tenure insecurity are
critical contributing factors to food insecurity
and poverty in the country
There is, therefore, economic sense in handling
land issues as a pre-requisite for sustainable
pro-poor growth.
Introduction Cont’d
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Agriculture sector accounts for more than 35% of the
country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 90% of
export earnings.
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Smallholder agriculture employs more than 80% of the
rural labour force and contributes about 30% of GDP
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However, smallholder agricultural productivity is still low
and hampered by, among other things, poor access to
factors of production, especially land and capital.
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Increasing smallholder agricultural productivity is
therefore key to rapid and sustainable economic growth
and poverty reduction in Malawi.
Introduction Cont’d
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Malawi Growth and Development Strategy which has
replaced the MPRS is an overarching strategy for
sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in
Malawi
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The Strategy has identified a number causes of poverty,
the most notable being poor access to land, land tenure
insecurity and poor land use.
Introduction Cont’d
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The problems of land in Malawi revolve
around issues of
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access
land tenure security
land use
Land governance.
Introduction Cont’d
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Government of Malawi has taken bold
steps to undertake land reforms as an
integral part of the agrarian reforms
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Existing land distribution problems in
Malawi results from factors such as :
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colonial land policy (which favoured the white
settler),
resource distribution policies during the oneparty era (which favoured the estate sector)
and
population dynamics (rapid population growth
rate)
Historical Background cont’d
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Until independence in 1964, land rights in Malawi
were governed by the 1902 Nyasaland Order in
Council, which enshrined English Property Law
as the only framework for land administration on
the colony.
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In 1967 there was an attempt to rectify colonial
land alienation through two statutes: the
Registered Land Act and the Customary Land
Development Act.
Historical Background cont’d
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Without a proper land policy complemented by
improper implementation of the statutes, land
management in Malawi became tenuous.
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In fact the Land Act was seen to be redundant
by many policy makers who viewed it as
unrepresentative of the practical realities of
Malawi’s land management problems and
opportunities
AN OVERVIEW OF PROBLEMS IN THE
LAND SECTOR IN MALAWI
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Residual effects of colonial land policy
High Population-land ratio
Land scarcity in spite of idle land
Provocative squatting
Privatising access to customary land
Mismanagement of land
Encroachment (cross border and o protected
areas)
Uncontrolled allocation of lakeshore land
RATIONALE FOR THE NATIONAL LAND
POLICY
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The problems cited above prompted
Government of Malawi to develop a
comprehensive national land policy that
would survive the test of time in the new
political dispensation.
National Land Policy Development
Process
1996
 A Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Land
was instituted to undertake a broad review of
land problems in the country.
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The Commission recommended the main
principles for formulating a comprehensive land
policy that will foster a more economically
efficient, environmentally sustainable and
socially equitable land administration and
management.
Policy Development Process cont’d
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In addition, a number of studies
were carried out in the Land Sector
between 1996-1999 these included,
among others :
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Public Land Utilization Study (PLUS)
Estate Land Utilization Study (ELUS)
Customary Land Utilization Study (CLUS)
Policy Development Process cont’d
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These studies unveiled a number of problems in the Sector
which can be broadly categorised as follows:
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Tenure insecurity especially on Customary Land
Poor Access to land especially by vulnerable groups –
women, children, the aged, people with disabilities etc.
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Poor Land Use (idle land and environmental
degradation)
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Poor land governance (unilateral decisions vis a vis land
allocation and dispute settlement)
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Policy Development Process cont’d
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Consultations
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Communities
NGOs
Civil Society
Development partners
Regional and National workshops
Cabinet Approval in January, 2002
POLICY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
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Policy Goal
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To ensure tenure security and equitable
access to land
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To facilitate the attainment of broad based
social and economic development through
optimum and ecologically balanced use of
land and land based resources
Policy Objectives
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promote tenure reforms that guarantee security and instill
confidence and fairness in all land transactions
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to promote decentralized and transparent land administration
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to extend land use planning strategies to all urban and rural areas
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to establish a modern land registration system for delivering land
services to all
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to enhance conservation and community management for local
resources
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to promote research and capacity building in land surveying and
land management
Policy Recommendations
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Categorization of land tenure into – Government Land, Public land and
Private land
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Promotion of equitable access to land and security of tenure
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Regulated land access by non-citizens
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Extension of land use planning and registration to the entire country
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Promotion of democratic and transparent land administration and dispute
settlement
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Recognition of cross-cutting and inter-sectoral issues such as gender,
environment and HIV/AIDS
Implementation Strategy
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The framework for achieving the goals of the National Land
Policy are contained in the Malawi Land Reform
Programme Implementation Strategy (MLRPIS).
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The aspirations of this strategy are :
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tenure security,
access to land,
good land governance and administration,
sustainable land use,
capacity building and training,
information, education and communication
Phases of Implementation
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Phase One: Formulation of Legal
Framework (2001-2006)
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Phase Two: Pilot Phase from 2003-2008
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Draft Land Bill drafted and submitted to
Parliament
Implementation of various projects on pilot basis
Phase Three: Expansion Phase (from 2009)
Pilot Projects
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Public awareness Campaign Project
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Community Based Rural Land Development Project.
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Land Reform Programme Capacity Building Project.
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Customary Land Reform and Sustainable Rural
Livelihoods Project
CHALLENGES
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Inadequate resources (Land Reforms are not
cheap and require concerted effort and commitment
by Government, NGOs, Civil Society and
Development Partners)
Low participation due to ignorance (there is need
for change of mindset through civic education to
empower people to own the programme)
Resistance to Change, especially among chiefs
CONCLUSION
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The land question is the single most
important problem which Africa must
decisively resolve if it is to emerge from
its economic and social crisis.
THE END
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