• ZAMBIAN land was held under customary tenure until the 1960s when freehold and leasehold tenure systems were introduced.

By JULIUS PHIRI –
LAND in Zambia has continued to be a critical factor essential for national development.
Since time immemorial, land has been held under customary tenure until the 1960s when freehold and leasehold tenure systems were introduced.
Of the total land mass of the country amounting to 752,614 square kilometres, customary land was estimated to be 94 per cent and State land at six per cent.
Customary tenure was an indigenous form of land ownership which was also referred to as traditional African customary tenure. It had a communal character.
Leasehold tenure was usually held on land that was also known as State land.
Under these two categories, there was reserve land that was allocated to nature, forest and wildlife sanctuaries.
The land under forests was estimated at nine per cent of the total land mass of the country, approximately 67,680 square kilometres and game management areas about 22 per cent, or approximately 165,440 square kilometres.
However, the population has increased, thereby creating localised pressure on land and problems of access and equity.
Lack of a land policy framework makes it difficult to address the problems.
In the recent past, there has been debate on the recognition of the customary land tenure system to promote investment in the rural areas and engendering land allocation in line with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol on gender.
Since independence, there were fragmented policy pronouncements by the Government.
But a comprehensive land policy framework was only arrived at in the year 2000 when the Government started initiatives to consult various stakeholders in order to come up with a land policy for the country.
In as far as the Zambian Government is concerned, land was an important factor of production as it provides a basis for development in the country.
In June this year, Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Christabel Ngimbu delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament that the Government had attached significance to reviewing the Lands Act of 1995 and consequently adopt it.
The Government has also enabled close collaboration between institutions that deal with land matters such as the ministries of Lands; Tourism; Local Government and Housing; Commerce Trade and Industry; local authorities; traditional rulers; the Department of Resettlement under the Office of the Vice-President; civil society and the private sector.
Zambia Land Alliance (ZLA) executive director Nsama Chikolwa said there was need to revisit procedures for foreign nationals acquiring land.
Making submissions on the Lands Amendment Bill before the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs in Lusaka, Ms Chikolwa said the land policy should be pro-poor.
She told the committee chaired by Kasempa Member of Parliament Kabinga Mpande that investors ought to be mindful of the rights of local people regarding land.
She said people in the country were having difficulties to access title deeds because the land administration in the country was still centralised.
Katete District Commissioner Joseph Duma Makukula said there could be no meaningful development without an efficient and effective land administrative system.
At a consultative meeting for land policy organised by ZLA in Katete recently, Mr Makukula said people could not afford to live without land.
He said shelter, farming, businesses and investment depend on the availability of land.
He said most of the people earned their living from land, through various activities such as small-scale farming to sustain families and educating their children.
Mr Makukula said land was an important factor of production which, if not available, no investment or development could take place.
He said Zambia had experienced an increment in investments in agriculture, tourism and mining and hence the need for more land allocation.
“Zambia has experienced increased investments, which calls for more land allocation but we should not forget the local people who depend so much on land as their income generator,” Mr Makukula said.
He said that currently, many local people found it difficult to access and own land due to various challenges that could be attributed to a lack of guidelines to administer land.
He said Zambia had never had a comprehensive national land policy, hence the importance of the stakeholders to help with legislation.
Mr Makukula said the Government was fully cognisant of the challenges related to land. This is why it was decided to restart the land policy development process which would result in the country finally having a land policy.
He said the process of reviewing would take into account various developments, both nationally and globally, as well as other socio-economic developments.
“Particularly, vulnerable groups like the poor, women, youths and persons living with disabilities continued to experience limited access, ownership and control over land,” Mr Makukula said.
He called for a comprehensive national land policy in order to protect interests of the poor and vulnerable groups.
Mr Makukula said the comprehensive policy could only be a product of broad-based consultations on land policy, hence the need to formulate a policy that would ensure effective administration and equal distribution of land.
He said Zambia needed a land policy which would provide guidance on how challenges regarding access, ownership and control of land would be addressed.
The Government was addressing the needs of some disadvantaged groups such as the youth and disabled.
At the same time the Government had enacted and enforced laws that ensure women acquire land without reference to their marital status.
Mr Makukula said the policy would harmonise different land programmes that the Government would implement.
It was for this reason that the Government has attached great importance to land as being at the centre stage of all economic development activities.
In order to enhance national development, the land should be made available for different economic ventures, which include agriculture, industry, commercial activities, human settlement and other uses.
The Government has continued with programmes of educating and enforcing the laws aimed at protecting the land from degradation and encouraging sustainable land use practices.
ZLA programmes manager Tapuwa Nzara called for the need to have a clear land policy and guidelines to state how land would be administered in the country.
Mr Nzara said the land policy was a national concern and an aspect of public policy.
The major issues or constraints which had been there was a contention with regard to the vestment of land in the Head of State, a national body like Parliament and traditional leaders.
Dual land tenure systems which involve customary and State land were often times in conflict with each other and that an argument over borders had been a matter of concern.
It is clear that Zambia has never had a land policy since the advent of colonialism.
Petauke District Land Alliance representative Moses Phiri said the land policy was important because it establishes guidance on legislation, regulation and implementation issues.
Mr Phiri said the land policy would address matters pertaining to land in rural and urban areas.
Chewa chiefs Kathumba, Mbang’ombe and Chieftainess Kawaza of Katete District attended the meeting.
ZLA held a similar consultative forum in Lundazi District of Eastern Province.
In nutshell, the Government has been trying to encourage issuance of title deeds on customary land through an advocacy programme involving traditional institutions.
Non-availability of written agreements with traditional leaders on land acquisition has created disputes in some settlement areas.
To minimise land disputes, a vigorous consultative process on land acquisition has been adopted and all land acquired should have written agreements.