EDITORIAL: How to end land disputes
What you need to know:
He also revealed that this is the wish and directive of President John Magufuli, and, as Land Minister, he would ensure that he would not be receiving any land-related complaints/disputes come 2020.
The Minister for Land, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Mr William Lukuvi, has publicly stated that his ministry is determined to find solutions to all land-related disputes by 2010.
He also revealed that this is the wish and directive of President John Magufuli, and, as Land Minister, he would ensure that he would not be receiving any land-related complaints/disputes come 2020. Now, that is a tall order indeed even for a hard-slogging minister like Mr Lukuvi. It is a task bordering on the impossible – at least in the Tanzanian context.
Speaking at ministry headquarters in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, he urged stakeholders to reveal the names of public officials who played a role in land-related disputes so that appropriate action is taken to remedy the situation and, possibly, penalise the officials involved.
Fair enough, but blame for a goodly number of land disputes can be placed at the government’s door. The government needs to address inordinate delays in issuing title deeds as well as iron out kinks in the land policy and regulatory frameworks.
That is where the government should start in the hope that land disputes will be history in the next few years.
