By Emmanuel Tembo
There has been debate lately as to whether vesting land in the President to hold it on behalf of the people translates to disempowering the chiefs from the age old responsibility of having a say in the allocation process of land in customary areas. This debate was brought to the fore due to pronouncements by the Justice Minister who seems to have suggested that any land meant for development can be acquired by the state without any consultations of the traditional leaders since it land is vested in the President.

Chief Chitimukulu in his online publication on the 3rd of July eloquently argued the case according to the existing law. We cannot belabour the point any further except to state that the Justice Minister might have been “drunk” with the power of being the acting president at the time he stated this.

Questioning the role of chiefs in land administration

The Chief however made other statements which this author felt need to be addresses. For instance he argues that politicians since 1991 have been on a mission to abolish traditional rulership. I will not dwell on the aspect of the political battles between Chiefs and those in political office. However, I will want to address the issue regarding land administration in traditional land.

The chief has argued that the Draft Land Policy of 2002 is a “satanic” document created by technocrats with no heart for the peasants! His bone of contention stems from a Chapter 3 which talks about the FACT that the currently land delivery system is not able to meet demand for land in both customary and state land. One would ask the question to the Chief: Is this not a fact? i.e. that the land delivery system is not able to meet the demands in both towns and rural areas and that there is urgent need to reform the system? Ancillary to this, one can further ask if indeed it is not time, nay past time, to consider our land delivery system and to even interrogate the role of the Chiefs in the land administration system in the country.

This paper poses the fundamental question of whether the institution of chiefs in its current form is able to deliver to us as a people,a land administration system that not only reflects a pro-poor approach but most importantly engenders development in our rural areas. Thus far we have lived with the institution of the chief as the one who provides consent after consultation for any development to take place in customary areas. This consultation is generally premised on the understanding that indeed the chief has made the necessary consultations with his subjects and therefore when he puts pen to paper it is assumed that this has been done. If a traditional ruler is being by-passed and titles are being issued behind his/her back then the Land Act is being abrogated with impunity. However, the truth of the matter is that for all land on title in customary areas you will find a consent form signed by the chief and were land is above 250hectares such land will also have the Minister’s approval. But has the system served us well or do we need to change something in our land administration system?

Land administration

To help us better understand this let us start by first defining Land Administration: Land as we all know is central to social and economic development of any nation especially the huge expanse of land called Zambia. All human activities revolve around land. Land Administration can be considered to be the way in which a society exercises stewardship over land taking into consideration the Land Tenure systems, culture and social norms. That Land administration has more connotations than mere stewardship is the basis of our “trouble” in administering it. To operationalize the process of land administration we must take into consideration its constituents; namely

1. Land Acquisition,
2. Land Allocation
3. Land Registration,
4. Land Surveying,
5. Land Use Planning
6. Land use monitoring.

The glue that ties all these together is how we manage our land information. Now, for each one of these elements there is a certain minimum required skill set that would ensure an optimal land administration system. Traditional land in Zambia has been governed by traditional customs and has generally been accepted to be stable in so far as it has never led to serious conflict over land. The Land Act of 1995 is the guiding Act which recognises customary tenure. The Act further allows for the conversion of Title from traditional to state lease. As said earlier one can obtain 14 year leases for a piece of land in traditional areas if one obtains consent from the chief and has a sketch plan for the area.

The aspect of conversion suggests the “superiority” of holding land on state lease rather than customary holding upon the land being surveyed. The State Lease will normally be given for a period of 99 years. In areas near the cities (formerly held as customary land) there has been high conversion from customary to leasehold to the exclusion of all others.A study
carried out by Augrey Malambo found that most villagers in Chibombo were now converting their customary land to leaseholds and that their land holdings were becoming smaller. The pecuniary advantage of selling land under the Land Act of 1995 is that it gives the rural land holders an opportunity to convert land holdings into cash.

However, when such land is sold it then is converted from customary tenure to leasehold and becomes the exclusive use of the one who has bought and done the conversion. An analysis of this process will suggest that over time communal land will be reduced to the extent that there shall be very little land remaining as customary land.

Technocrats should administer land

Did the Land Act (1995) take away the rights of the people to control land holding? Chief Chitimukulu in his argument suggests that rural people were opposed to the enactment of the Land Act because it took over control of all forms of land tenure and passed it on the state. Particularly, the chief seems concerned with Section 3 which vests land in the President. As ably answered by the late President Levy Mwanawasa vesting of land in the president should not in itself be a problem because firstly the president is an institution and secondly such vesting of land is not a blanket allocation of land to the president. While subsections 2 and 3 allow the President to alienate land to either a Zambian or non-Zambian, Sub-section 4 clearly states that where land is held in customary tenure the President may not alienate such land without taking into consideration of the local customary law and without consulting the chief and the local authority of the area.

So when Levy Mwanawasa stated that land can only be alienated after consultation with the local chief, he was referring to the Subsection 4 of the Section 3 of the Land Act and not the orders in council as suggested by Chief Chitimukulu. It can be said that Law as it stands protects the local communities from having their land grabbed without their knowledge. This however is not the practice in reality as land has been known to be alienated without the full knowledge of the community in many parts of rural Zambia.

What begs the question though is this: Given the elements involved in Land Administration is the current institutional framework at customary and traditional level able to deliver the much sought after development in rural areas? Remember we have said that at the very minimum Land Administration should have elements of Land Allocation, Land Surveying, Land Use Planning and Monitoring and Land Acquisition.

The Chiefs should not only be fixated at the idea that their power to allocate land has been taken away by the state. We are seeing haphazard development in most rural and peri-urban areas because those basic tenets in Land Administration are not being followed and dare we say cannot be followed by chiefdoms because they do not have the capacity to do so. In this incapacity must be acknowledged by the chiefs so that help can be sought from the technocrats who would ensure that the whole gambit of land administration is done sustainably even in rural areas.

What needs to be done?

We are not suggesting that since the institution of the chief does not have the capacity to carry out the Land Administration function we should then do away with consulting them. There is a problem however when all a chief can do when an applicant has cleared land and stayed in the chief’s jurisdiction for some approved time is to sign consent.

This system is not only open to abuse but also does not help achieve sustainable and structured development in rural areas. While Section 44 through 48 of the Town and Country Planning Act makes provision for regional plans to be prepared which would include customary areas what is currently obtaining is that land allocation and planning and sub-divisions thereof is done rather haphazardly in customary area. We therefore need a new structure that will address the inadequacies inherent in the traditional system. A customary land authority manned with technical staff able to do surveys, planning, and allocation of land and monitoring of development is required. This authority will work with the Chiefdoms and all necessary grassroots stakeholders to be effective. Our customary areas deserve better!

Investing in the next generation

When President Obama and African heads of state and government convene in Washington, DC next week for the first-ever U.S.-African Leaders Summit, they will focus on “investing in the next generation”. No theme could be more relevant to the future of sustainable development across the continent.

Today’s generation of young people – not only in Africa but worldwide – is the largest in history. Sheer force of numbers means that we urgently need to harness the power and creativity of youth on every continent, from the Americas to the Middle East and Asia. In Africa, that need arises with particular urgency.

As I wrote in my open letter to African Union leaders before their summit in June, there sometimes seem to be two Africas: one is a new land of opportunities, the other a poor, hungry and hopeless place. But in fact, Africa is rich in resources, and its people are the greatest resource of all – especially the 200 million Africans between the ages of 15 and 24. Each year at least 10 million young people, more than ever before, enter the labour force on the continent. Yet tens of millions of young Africans remain unemployed. Many who have jobs are trapped in poorly paid or part-time work, leaving their vast potential underutilized and untapped.

Young people – a precious resource

At IFAD, we know from experience that young people are the most precious resource a rural community can have. Today, however, many rural areas in Africa are losing their young people, because there are often so few incentives for them to stay. When young rural women and men cannot get an adequate education, make a living or create a secure home, they move to sprawling cities or to foreign countries that, they believe, offer more hope. Some make good and contribute to their communities by sending money home. Too many others become mired in urban poverty. This is a tremendous loss for their families and their nations.

Importance of agricultural and rural development

So if we are serious about investing in the next generation in this, the AU Year of Agriculture and Food Security, we must recognize that increased support for agricultural and rural development is essential. How could it be otherwise when some 60 per cent of Africa’s people depend wholly or partly on agriculture for their livelihoods? As I noted in my letter to the AU, a thriving small-farm sector helps rural areas retain the young people who would otherwise be driven away.

Targeted investments can make a difference. To start with, support for basic education is critical in rural areas where schools are underfunded and poor children are often taken out of school early and put to work. Young rural people also need vocational training, apprenticeships and further education to give them relevant knowledge and skills.

An IFAD-funded project in Madagascar, for example, provides apprenticeships and job opportunities for thousands of young rural workers, building a stable, skilled workforce for Malagasy small businesses. In Tanzania, IFAD supports farmer field schools that use experiential learning to help farmers of all ages solve problems and acquire new techniques. Those who apply what they learn are reaping the benefits of higher yields, productivity and profits.

Meanwhile, in several West and Central African nations, a regional IFAD grant is providing training and business development services for young women and men involved in farming and other rural enterprises. With help from their mentors, these agricultural entrepreneurs – or “agripreneurs” – are starting up new ventures across the value chain. They are demonstrating that agriculture is an exciting, modern profession through which young people can contribute financially to their communities as both producers and consumers.

But education and training alone are not enough to guarantee sustainable livelihoods. Young adults’ access to finance in rural areas is also vital. In Benin, IFAD supports the establishment and growth of financial service associations ? owned by rural people ? that offer credit and savings products in more than 190 village banks. Nearly half of all the credit extended by these associations has gone to young women and men.

When basic education, training and credit are widely available to Africa’s young rural people, they seize the opportunity to invest in their own farms and businesses. They are empowered to build their skills and confidence. They participate in community decision-making and assume leadership roles in local organizations.

Nutrition -sensitive agriculture

On an even more basic level, investing in Africa’s next generation means making nutrition-sensitive agriculture a top priority. You can’t de-link agriculture and nutrition, since up to 80 per cent of the food consumed in Africa is produced locally. Yet more than 4 in 10 children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa are undernourished. Failure to expand, sharpen and accelerate our efforts on nutrition will impose a heavy cost in opportunities missed and potential unmet.

One study found that undernutrition in Africa causes economic losses that vary by country from 1.9 to 16.5 per cent of GDP. In addition, governments end up spending billions of dollars on programmes in order to deal with poor nutrition and its effects. Investing in nutrition through agriculture, therefore, is more than a social good. It is sound development policy and good economics. It encompasses partnerships with other sectors, including health, water and sanitation, and education. And it demands careful attention to the social context – notably the status of women – as well as farming practices that protect the environment and foster biodiversity.

A reminder to African leaders enroute to Washington

As African leaders gather for the summit in Washington in a spirit of partnership, it is important to remember that they, in particular, must take the initiative in fulfilling the promise of the continent’s next generation. More than a decade ago, their governments pledged to allocate at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture, yet only a handful of countries in Africa have consistently reached that threshold.

Even as they seek responsible, transparent foreign investment to alleviate poverty and boost food security, it is time for African leaders to deliver on their commitments. The next generation deserves nothing less.

By Kanayo F. Nwanze
President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided about US$15.8 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached some 430 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agriculture hub.

Hjoe Moono

A few years ago, somewhere around 2008, Hon. Miles Sampa, then in commercial banking, expressed interest to stand in Materos Constituency under the PF’s ticket. In his expression of interest, Mr.Sampa stated that he had Matero close to his heart and that while he had done well for himself as a banker and was living comfortably in Kabulonga, he could not fanthom the idea of seeing Matero Constituency, a place close to his being in such a deplorable state. He stated that he was ready, willing and able to leave his lucrative banking career to join politics under the PF, then an opposition party, to help effectively represent Matero constituency.

For a while I thought, well, there goes the usual rhetoric from aspiring candidates: Saying the right things at the right time to woo votes. But on second thought, the fact that it wasn’t an election year, and that he was willing to join an opposition party gave me a benefit of doubt.
Well now he is Member of Parliament, for Matero, and deputy Minister, under the PF: Perhaps he had good vision after all!

What has caught my attention, and deserve mention, recognition and ululation are his efforts in keeping his promise to help better Matero Constituency. A number of initiatives have been show cased to us on facebook, and of course he got praises for that. The MetroCab idea, however, as an economist, caught my attention, and I would argue that it is perhaps the most supreme of all initiatives he has implemented in Matero, and cannot go with mention.

A Milestone Achievement

Hon. Miles Sampa’s idea of MetroCabs is a perfect illustration of selfless leadership aimed at elevating the living standard of the people that an MP represents. Let us be clear, from the start, that this is NOT an MP’s job! That Hon. Sampa has gone outside his Terms of References as MP to personally, and individually, through his network and banking experience to empower PSV drivers in Matero with Cabs surely deserves praise and recognition. While many MPs probably have private businesses, we have not seen how any of them have used these to empower the youths of the constituencies they represent. For this, we ought to rightly recognise the innovation of Hon. Miles Sampa in his quest for empowerment of the youths of his constituency.

That he has earmarked his expected gratuity as an MP as collateral for the acquired loan from Indo-Zambia Bank to secure the MetroCabs is poignantly selfless, and at this point I would say that he has eased the greatest hurdle most of us face in starting a business: Access to Finance. How many MPs have done this for their constituencies? We have professional MPs in Parliament whose role is to ensure re-election, and currently we hear of debates to have their gratuities increased to prevent them from being ‘destitute’ once they are out of parliament. Indeed, you will know them by their deeds. They say you cannot tell that a road is crooked until you see a straight one besides it. And yes, now we know them.

Having been raised by a taxi driver myself, I fully appreciate the initiative to empower youths of Matero. Many of our youths, no matter how well trained in driving they may be, cannot dream of owning a car in their lifetime. Many of our families rely on the one member of the family that may have a job, a katemba or uses some skill acquired. Driving is one such skill that is when acquired, and easily so, has continued to feed, school and take care of many households. An opportunity therefore to empower these drivers with a car once they have worked hard a while, is indeed what many would have hoped came many years ago.

What Hon. Miles has showed all those in parliament, especially those advocating for a pay rise, is that even with the little you get from Parliament, you can do one good thing for your constituency. As they say: A little goes a long, long way, many miles actually!

I must admit, I had never imagined that in our house of parliament one would be this innovative and use his experience and standing in society to better the lives of the people in his constituency. We cannot continue to talk about potential as a country, we must put this potential to work, and leaders are expected to lead the way especially in their constituencies. What Hon. Miles Sampa has done is to show us all, that what Zambia wants, what we want, a dynamic economy that generates the wealth to deliver rising living standards and better public services for all our people is feasible with simple yet effective ideas such as MetroCab.

Youth Empowerment & Confidence Building

The idea of MetroCab has the potential to enhance self confidence in the youths, especially the youths of Matero that we have a brighter and better future ahead of us, that with many like minds of selfless leaders, a strong, self-confident and outward-looking country, a country we can be proud of is feasible. I strongly believe that in constituencies, MPs should be proper public servants. MPs, whatever their party, should work for their constituents, and in an innovative way, MetroCabs in Matero is such clear example of MP’s roles in constituency development and community partnerships. I hope the other MPs follow the steps taken by the Matero lawmaker and empower their constituencies. Remember, Just a Little Goes a Long Way! Well done Miles, this is indeed a Milestone!