Government to seize acres of land under new proposal

The explosive problem in Tanzania - too much land concentrated in the hands of too few people. 

The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development yesterday embarked on the land reform plan that could potentially lead to the seizure and redistribution of thousands of acres of privately-owned land in the country.

The three-year, nationwide Land Tenure Support Program (LTSP) will include an audit of land ownership and use in the country, targeting holdings that measure 50 acres and above that is considered unproductive or is being used for speculation.

According to the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, William Lukuvi, the audit will help the government to expropriate the uncultivated land that performs no social or economic function, and hand it over to people without land.  

“There are literally thousands of acres of land that has been abandoned ...some of the owners claim to have reserved this land. This is unacceptable as there are many people struggling to get land for investment and other agricultural activities,” Lukuvi said in Dar es Salaam at the inauguration of LTSP.

Land speculation is rampant in Tanzania, where a few private companies and wealthy individuals own huge tracts of uncultivated land in the hope of selling it in the future for super profits.

The country has about 48.7 million hectares of arable land, but it is estimated that less than 15 per cent of it is actually under cultivation.

Lukuvi said once the audit has been completed, the government will repossess all the unproductive land that has been turned into forests and distribute it to the people. 

He however warned that title deeds will automatically expire three years after issuance if the new owners also fail to develop the land.

The minister also warned that it was illegal for foreigners to sell land which was given to them by the government or the state-run Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) for investment purposes.

He said the LTSP was aimed at ensuring that more Tanzanians get title deeds for their lands so they can use it as collateral to access bank loans.

Since taking office on November 5, President John Magufuli has already moved to seize hundreds of acres of idle farmland and redistribute it to villagers.

But some analysts say the government should tread carefully in its planned private land seizure exercise, citing the case of Zimbabwe which unsuccessfully tried to redistribute vast colonial-era farms.

 The $15.2 million LTSP is funded by the British Department for International Development (DfID), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).