Civil society, good governance and land rights in Africa : some reflections
Palmer, Robin
In a small Central African country, a new Land Law is currently being piloted, with the support of a DFID-funded team of consultants. A workshop is to be held in the capital in October to plan implementation of the Law. Despite advice to the contrary, the consultants appear determined to exclude any local civil society engagement in the workshop for fear of antagonising their client, the Ministry of Lands. In a large East African country, a protracted process of land policy making has been undertaken, with strong support from DFID. In contrast to the case above, DFID has been insistent that civil society play an integral part in this process, and the local Government agreed, albeit with some reluctance. Meanwhile, a highly politicised situation developed around land issues nationwide, with positions strongly polarised. Now, the main civil society land organisation has lost all faith in Government intentions and refuses further collaboration in developing the stalled land policy. So there is an impasse, with DFID left with the quandary of how, if at all, it might be unlocked. In the newly liberated part of a very large country in the Horn of Africa, there was to have been a meeting in Europe last week to discuss how best to form a civil society organisation to defend the land interests of the poor. This was in the light of the liberation movementts commitment that the land belongs to the people.. But the meeting was cancelled because the movement now appears to have changed its mind on that commitment! These three examples illustrate some of the complexities of civil society engagement in land rights in Africa.
Event: FAO Expert Meeting on Good Governance in Land Tenure and Administration
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