Rwanda's land tenure reform: non-existent to best practice

Abstract

References 114vi FOREWORD Redefining expectations: Rwanda's transformational land tenure reformThe Rwandan authorities have swiftly and cheaply created enforceable legal titles to every plot of land in the country. In this, Rwanda is wholly exceptional: in most poor countries, land rights are confused and contested. The failure to clarify land rights is hugely costly: fundamental processes of investment are stalled, especially in cities. Rwanda shows that this is entirely avoidable. Many other governments need to learn from it, and this book will enable them to do so. It is both important and liberating: the Rwandan authorities were able to succeed because they thought for themselves, rather than attempting to copy a donor blueprint. Thierry knows how public officials came up with simple yet ingenious local solutions to a major global problem because he was in the kitchen: part of the team transforming goals into reality.Land reform is both the greatest challenge and the most promising opportunity for developing countries today. Effective land use provides a platform for productive activity and service delivery -creating jobs and raising living standards not just for landowners, but for citizens at large. However, weak land rights in many countries undermine this potential. Competing claims on land, complexity of land transfer, and limited planning and taxation of these assets limit both private and public investment. Land is frozen in unproductive uses -at a considerable cost to the economy. Active policy to strengthen land rights can change this.Effective land rights serve three functions: security, marketability and legal enforceability. By providing security of future ownership, land rights allow owners to make significant investments in their land without fear of being dispossessed. By allowing land to be bought and sold by a market, land is able to be transferred to its most productive use, transforming it to meet rapidly changing needs. And for security and marketability to work in practice, legal enforcement of land rights through courts, policy and public records is needed. This includes legal enforcement of private land rights, as well as public land rights that enable governments to tax and plan land for the public good. While informal systems of tenure can provide a degree of security, they can be difficult to enforce and transact. Legally enforceable rights are essential for economic development.I have a long list of friends and colleagues who have encouraged me to write this book, persevere with it, and finally to publish it.