SADC: Machila: SADC meeting of ministers responsible for land (27/03/2008)

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Published: 27 Mar 2008

SADC: Machila: SADC meeting of ministers responsible for land (27/03/2008)

Date: 27/03/2008
Source: Department of Land Affairs
Title: SADC: Machila: SADC meeting of ministers responsible for land

Opening speech by Hon Bradford M Machila, Minister of Lands and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chair of Ministers Responsible for Land Affairs, Zambia, delivered at the meeting of SADC Ministers Responsible for Land Affairs, Sandton Convention Centre, Sandton, South Africa

* Hon Lulu Xingwana, Minister of Agriculture and Lands in South Africa, Deputy SADC Chair
* All Honourable Ministers responsible for land affairs
* All Honourable Deputy Ministers
* The SADC Deputy Executive Secretary, Dr Joao Cahol
* Permanent Secretaries/Directors-General of the Land Ministries
* All senior government officials
* The Director of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Southern African Development and Economic Community (SADEC) Secretariat Mrs. Margaret Nyirenda
* Distinguished delegates
* Ladies and gentlemen

1. It is indeed a great honour and privilege for me this morning to deliver a statement, on behalf of my government Zambia, the current chair of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) at the opening of this important meeting of SADC Ministers responsible for Land Affairs. Allow me this morning to join the host Government, South Africa in welcoming you all to this very important meeting. We meet here to discuss land issues affecting our region and to reflect on the progress made in implementing in particular, the decision of 2004 Extra-ordinary summit on Agriculture and Food Security, of fast tracking the establishment of the SADC Land Reform Support Facility.

2. This meeting is significant as it constitutes an important rare forum for the exchange of ideas on the problems faced by member states in addressing various land related problems. It will help us to develop a common understanding and develop a strong resolve to address the disparities in land distribution created by our colonial past. It is my belief that our countries can assist each other through the sharing of expertise and the exchange of information on good practises in land reform. It is for this reason that I find the establishing of a regional facility on land reform especially appealing as it has the potential to provide a robust platform for information exchange.

3. Honourable Ministers, let me emphasise that land is a very critical factor of production particularly for our region where the majority of the population is rural based and where agriculture and the utilisation of natural resources are major economic activities for food security and livelihoods support. It need not emphasised that the attainment of Millennium Development Goals, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) objectives, as well as the objectives of our SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and indeed our national development initiatives depends, to a large extent, on the attainment of equitable land distribution and its sustainable utilisation.

4. I wish to reiterate that our region faces a number of challenges relating to land. Not only do we have racially skewed land distribution and poorly resourced land administration institutions, we also have problems of unsustainable land utilisation leading to the decline in the ability of our land resources in providing goods and services. The degradation of the land base is both a cause and an effect of poverty among land users. It is, therefore, important that the land users are provided with skills, knowledge and other resources to be able to optimally and sustainably utilise the land for income generation and poverty reduction.

5. Honourable Ministers, land is arguably the most important asset that can be made available to the poor. Improving equitable distribution and tenure security of this resource through reform may ensure access to land for the poor, particularly the poor women and other vulnerable groups. Secure tenure is an important vehicle for increasing the productivity of land and in enabling the poor to utilise their land for investment and collateral.

6. It is for this reason that most of the member states are engaged in reforms aimed at improving access to land, revamping and capacitating land administration institutions, improving land information systems and establishing effective land dispute resolution mechanisms. Admittedly, these reforms are slow due to a number of reasons including the need for proper and all inclusive consultation in the policy and legal framework formulation processes, unwillingness of land owners to release land for settlement under the "wiling buyer -willing seller" principle and inadequate resources in some countries for land acquisition, resettlement and post settlement support.

7. Honourable Ministers, in my home country Zambia, we have been in the process of developing national land policy since 2002. It has taken us long to finalise the process due to the need for detailed analysis of issues and the need to include and incorporate the aspirations of a wide range of stakeholders. I am sure you will agree that the need for a holistic approach to land matters can not be overemphasised, as I have already stated earlier; it is the basis of all other interventions. Therefore, our draft policy does ensure linkages with other sector policies through clearer land tenure arrangements. The draft policy has gone through intense scrutiny to ensure that it spells out concrete actions for enhancing administration and use of land, initiatives for revenue generation, decentralisation and empowerment of rural and urban communities while addressing the challenges posed by social inequalities; poverty, gender and disability.

8. At independence, like most countries in the region, Zambia inherited a customary, freehold and leasehold tenure system in which the administration of customary tenure was subordinate to written law. In 1995 our government appointed a Commission of Inquiry to review the land administration system. Recommendation were made for the unification and integration of land administration, simplification of the statutory tenure law, individual land title registration of customary tenure and the acquisition and control of vacant land by the Government.

9. Our post independence period saw the enactment of laws to provide for compulsory acquisition of land and other property in the public interest, increasing state control and land transactions to cater for urban development, control and improvement of housing for low income groups, regulation of tenants and rentals, restrictions of land acquisition by non-Zambians and the conversion of freehold to leasehold tenure.

10. Land administration in the pre and post independence era primarily served to preserve law and order, provide basic land services and to collect fiscal revenue through provision of public services. The government ably fulfilled this obligation and sustained an effective land administration system during the earlier years of macro-economic stability. However with time, societal demands for land services gradually accelerated to levels that were not matched by administrative efficiency among institutions responsible for administering land. This has brought us to where we are today, developing a land policy responsive to the demands of the day.

11. Honourable Ministers, at a regional level, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) which was adopted in 2003 aims at achieving deeper regional integration and poverty reduction and identifies key intervention areas for success. Amongst those intervention areas are; poverty reduction, sustainable food security, HIV and AIDS, gender and development, environment and sustainable development, infrastructure for development and trade, just to mention a few. It is clear that land is at the centre of all those interventions and therefore it is imperative that greater efforts are made in addressing the existing land problems that have the potential to disrupt the social and economic development of this region, if not attended to.

12. Honourable Ministers, I am pleased to note that since the 2004 Extra-ordinary summit decision, the SADC Land Reform Task Team comprising of Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe assisted by the SADC Secretariat has worked tirelessly to get to where we are today. I am informed that the recommendations which this meeting is going to consider for approval have been discussed and endorsed by both the Task team and a wide committee of Permanent Secretaries of Ministers responsible for land matters from all SADC member states in April and September of last year respectively. I strongly believe that these recommendations do operationalise the 2001 summit directive for the region to develop a regional strategy for addressing land reform issues and the recent urgency expressed by the 2004 Extra summit on Agriculture and Food Security to fast track the establishment of the facility.

13. The United Nations(UN) Economic Commission for Africa in its African review report on land at the fifth meeting of African committee on sustainable development meeting of October 2007 hailed the South African development community for having a regional initiative on land reform through the establishment of the SADC land reform support facility. It is indeed commendable that as a region we have resolved to have a regional initiative in support of the various national efforts in land and agrarian reform policy formulation and implementation.

14. Honourable Ministers, my expectation is that when the facility is fully established and well resourced it will provide access to advice, expertise, training and technical support on different aspects of land reform to member states. It will provide a mechanism for pooling donor resources for regional programmes or individual country projects. While acknowledging the sovereignty and national nature of land issues, the regional approach provides for development of consensus and common stands on matters relating to land reform in the region.

15. Although the establishment of the facility has been on the agenda of SADC policy meetings for a long time, the actual establishment process started in September 2006 with the recruitment of facilitator and consultants. It is therefore in its early stages and requires our support to sustain the moment now acquired. It is a learning process and the facility will organically grow through experience during the first few years.

16. It is pleasing to note that within the short period of the facility's establishment and with limited resources, we have begun to see marked improvements in the collaboration and networking among land stakeholders in the region. The facility has also engaged in collaborative activities with other institutions such as the World Bank institute, Southern Africa Research Poverty Network and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in a number of areas including training and research. It has actively been involved in the regional assessments and consultations for Southern Africa as an input to the African Union Commission (AUC)/Electronic Communications Act (ECA)/African Development Bank (ADB) Africa Land Policy Framework and Guidelines Initiative. SADC through the facility coordinated the first regional assessments and consultations among the many regional economic communities. It is hoped our regional initiates will add value to the Africa Policy initiative and has a greater chance of influencing it to consider the peculiarities of land problems in Southern Africa when developing the framework.

17. Honourable Ministers, allow me to join those who have spoken before me to thank all members of the SADC Land Reform Task team comprising Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe, for steering the process of facility establishment. I particularly wish to thank the Department Of Land Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs for providing leadership and hosting all task team meetings during the establishment process.

18. The outcome of this meeting is very vital in shaping the activities of the facility. I invite you to actively participate in discussing the recommendations and providing the way forward to the development process of the facility. I know the process has been slow but I believe you can agree with me that the process is now on course and we need to express commitment and take ownership of the whole process.

19. I now wish to extent my gratitude to the Republic of South Africa through the Directorate of Land Affairs in the Ministry of Agriculture and Land for accepting to host this meeting and for the hospitality accorded to delegations from all countries in attendance. Let me also take this opportunity to thank United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Drylands Development centre for its keen interest as well as financial, administrative and technical support to the establishment process. The continued financial assistance of Department of International Development (DFID) is also greatly appreciated. Thanks also to a number of International co-operating partners who have shown interest to support the facility and it is my hope that these will translate into concrete commitments and support.

20. Honourable Ministers, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen, with these remarks, let me, once again, thank you all for making time to come to attend this meeting despite your busy schedules. It is now my humble duty and a privilege, to declare this SADC meeting of ministers responsible for land affairs officially opened.

21. I thank you all for your attention!

Issued by: Department of Land Affairs
27 March 2008