Our purpose is to present and test a typology of land reform theories as a means of understanding and interrogating the motives behind land reform and to better equip land administrators and policymakers to enact land reform programs that are appropriate for their contexts. Here, land reform is understood to include the related concepts of land redistribution, land restitution, land tenure reform and land administration reform. The theory typology thus has application for land restitution programs specifically operating in the global South. The continuum of theories is derived from literature and tested through a multiple case study of land reform in Nigeria, Mozambique, and South Africa, drawing from a combination of primary and secondary data. The findings suggest an over-reliance on replacement theories in all three contexts, although the Mozambican experience draws on theories towards the middle of the continuum (the adaptation theories). This is recommended as the most viable approach for the context.
The Land Use Act of 1978 (LUA) has failed to achieve some of its objectives. The rural poor and the vulnerable are those most affected. The failure is ascribed to problems inherent in the Act and poor implementation. This paper discusses the effect of the LUA on the customary ownership of land and its effect on the tenure security of the rural poor. Using a conceptual framework for guiding cadastral systems development, the critical areas of the LUA as pertains to tenure security are analysed for the degree of their success, sustainability, and significance. The framework looks at the underlying theory, the drivers of change, the change process, and the land administration system. A mixed methodology approach was adopted for the study, using a single case study. Three groups of respondents contributed to the study: land professionals, civil servants and students. The study found that securing title to land is difficult, compensation provisions need to be reviewed, formal land registration is not in the interest of the poor, land is not available at an affordable rate, land speculators are still active in Nigerian land markets, the composition of the two committees is inadequate, and the refusal to grant certificates to people below the age of 21 is age biased. It further revealed that the power granted to the governor is enormous and unnecessary. The findings showed that the LUA is both effective in some areas and dysfunctional in others. This is because of the age of the Act and the lack of a pro-poor policy focus. Based on these findings recommendations were made, including that a new policy be enacted that includes pro-poor policies and customary laws. The LUA is found to be useful in urban areas, but not in solving land-related problems in rural areas. This study provides an understanding of the legal holding of land in Nigeria.
Tenure security in developed countries is generally explicit while in developing countries it is generally implicit. To reduce poverty, empower the poor, and ensure economic growth, security of tenure is essential. The rural poor and vulnerable groups in Nigeria have tenure insecurity, yet the extent of this insecurity is unknown in many rural communities. This study used the New Continuum of Land Rights Model (NCLRM) developed by Whittal (2014) to measure the tenure security of the rural poor in Itaji-Ekiti. A single case study approach using qualitative method was adopted for the research design. Four land right types emerged from the study: informal occupation, formal occupation, customary, and registered leasehold. These land rights are interpreted using the triple vertical axes of legitimacy, legality and certainty. Despite strong legitimacy and legality, the results show that tenure insecurity exists in Itaji-Ekiti due to weak certainty. Bad land governance is the cause of this. The use of NCLRM in Itaji-Ekiti provides an understanding of the tenure situation. This model has the potential for use in the development of pro-poor land policy that could be used as an example in other developing countries.
Formal land registration systems have failed to accommodate the wide range of land tenure claims found in developing countries, including land rights under customary and informal tenure systems, thereby leaving the rural people with insecure tenure. To reduce poverty, empower the poor, and ensure economic growth, security of tenure is beneficial. This paper investigates how the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) can be applied to record customary and informal land rights at Itaji-Ekiti, Nigeria. Primary data was collected by administering questionnaires on a house-to-house basis and conducting interviews with land rights holders. Spatial data was recorded using a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) Garmin Oregon 300 and a mobile application (Topographic Mapper). Secondary data was collected from reports, journal articles, published books and the Google Earth image repository. The data collected through the administered questionnaires was used to analyse perceptions of tenure by the holders of land rights. This study provides additional knowledge for researchers in the field of Cadastral Surveying, as it tested the applicability of the STDM. The model will also help the government of Nigeria with the necessary data for the upgrading of informal settlements, which will provide integrity in land administration.
A nation’s constitution should be overtly pro-poor in its objectives. These should include how constitutional principles support land administration systems and their legal frameworks, their reform. Constitutions have, been long neglected. There is a need within developing nations to embed pro-poor objectives into land administration systems and their legal frameworks such that reforms meet the needs of the most vulnerable in society. Prior to reform of any system, understanding of that system is imperative. However, there is a lack of a context-specific frameworks to assess existing land administration systems in conjunction with constitutional law prior to a reform intervention. To develop a conceptual framework for the thorough evaluation of a country’s constitution in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, secondary data and a text-based methodology were used. Sampling logic was applied to gather and analyse the data. A conceptual framework for accessing land administration systems and their legal frameworks, for use prior to land administration systems reform initiatives, is proposed in this chapter. To deliver pro-poor land administration systems and their legal frameworks, three fundamental constitutional tenets—human rights, the rule of law, and legal pluralism—were identified and inform the assessment of various country constitutions.
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