Title: Pro-poor land registration in peri-urban Oshakati (Namibia): an assessment
Abstract: Peri-urban areas in African cities are dynamic with respect to land tenure. Statutory, informal and customary tenure systems often co-exist and interfe re with each other. This often results in loss of tenure security, especially for people with low inc omes. Recently, innovative land registration tools haven been designed to cater for the poor. The ques tion arises whether these tools have the desired impact. This question is answered by confronting th e existing tenure regimes with the implemented innovative land registration tools. A case-study has been carried out in Oshakati, a sm all town in Northern Namibia. The tenure dynamics mostly relate to the transformation of cus tomary land (Communal Areas) into Council land through the proclamation of Town Lands in 1993. Two innovative programs concerning land registration are discussed. The first is a governme nt-driven program to implement the Flexible Land Tenure System (FLTS). The FLTS, still drafted as a Bill, introduces upgradable titles, which are easier and cheaper to acquire compared to the exist ing formal freehold titles. The second is a NGOdriven program on saving schemes. Such schemes work almost according to FLTS-principles within the current legal framework. The association formin g the saving scheme acquires a block of land and subdivides it among its members where individual pl ots are administered by the association. The FLTS-pilots and one saving scheme have been assessed through qualitative methods. Concerning the pilots, the innovative titles could not be issu ed as the Bill has not yet been enacted. Meanwhile, the adjudication and surveying exercise resulted in inc reased levels of perceived tenure security, notwithstanding the fact that de jure security did not change. The saving scheme was able to provide tenure security to its members through their privat e land registration system. It is concluded that th e saving schemes are successful, although on a limite d scale, by virtue of their social organization. Th e FLTS has the potential of delivering tenure securit y, however the non-enactment and implementation uncertainties leave much to be answered.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-02-10
Language: en
Type: article
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