Machina asks govt to revise draft land policy
Machina asks govt to revise draft land policyBy Nomusa Michelo
Sunday October 28, 2007 [03:00]
ZAMBIA Land Alliance (ZLA) executive director Henry Machina has asked the government to revise the draft land policy before it is made into law. In a statement, Machina said the current draft land policy does not reflect inclusiveness.
“We are calling 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,” he said. “In addition, 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.”
Machina said 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.
“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,” he said.
Machina said the rationale of the policy had also raised concerns within the 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," he said. “However, there is no evidence that the drive to ensure that rural citizens get title to their customary holdings will have the desired result of reducing rural poverty."
He said although civil society endorsed 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 would actually be done.
“ZLA suggests the creation of a land reform unit to implement and monitor land administration and a national land commission to oversee land allocation and administration," said Machina.
ZLA, is a network of civil society organisations working with rural and urban poor communities to ensure that land laws, policies and land administration procedures take their interests into account.
Labels: HENRY MACHINA, LAND REFORM, ZLA
posted by MrK @ 5:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home