This was said yesterday by the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Mr
William Lukuvi, when tabling his 61.8bn/- budget estimates for 2016/2017 fiscal year.
Land being a crosscutting issue, Mr Lukuvi said his ministry is set to work together with the ministries of
Natural Resources and Tourism; Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries; and the President’s Office -
Regional Administration and Local Government, TAMISEMI, to jointly address land disputes in the
country. He told the House that they will come up with a joint programme that will guide them when
handling land issues.
“We are quite aware of how these conflicts have already adversely affected the economy of this country. I
ask your cooperation in this as handling land-related disputes need cooperation, it’s not a task to be left
for one person,” he said.
Mr Lukuvi said that land-related conflicts usually result in increased poverty due to interruption and even
total stoppage of agricultural and other productive activities.
He assured Tanzanians that his ministry was determined to ensure such disputes are resolved once and
for all.Major cause of land conflicts being land grabbing, most of which comes through a highly touted
foreign investment package; the minister hinted that his ministry has established a department to handle
land allocated for investment activities.
“This department is tasked with checking if land possessed by investors is used as per agreement … it
also collaborates with the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) to compile suitable resources for
investment,” he noted.
The ministry has also completed procedures to introduce a Compensation Fund, which will handle all
issues related to compensating the people. About 5bn/- has been allocated for the fund.
Mr Lukuvi warned that the government would no longer tolerate acts of corruption in land allocation and
that officials engaged in such malpractices would be relieved of their duties.
“The Fifth Phase Government is keen in addressing all problems related to land. All we need is
cooperation from the public,” he said. He attributed land disputes to dishonest land officials who
disregard laws and regulations governing the sector, delay in issuance of title deeds and invasion of open
spaces.
The minister affirmed that the government will repossess all idle land tracts that are not being used for
any economic activities and offering to landless farmers.
“We have already started legal procedures to see how this exercise will be carried out. Our aim is to give
idle land to farmers who need it most,” he noted. Mr Lukuvi went on to say that despite the process, it
would be better if investors owning huge undeveloped pieces of land would willfully surrender it to the
government authorities to enable more poor farmers to engage in agriculture.
According to Mr Lukuvi, there are some land owners who misuse their rights of occupancy by sub-letting
farms to smallholder farmers at exorbitant rates of fees. “This is not acceptable; we will repossess the
land and give it back to farmers because it is their constitutional right,” he stressed.
The minister directed district authorities to survey all village land in the country and provide owners
certificates of occupancy and title deeds to reduce the escalating land conflicts.
Mr Lukuvi noted that ongoing land disputes between farmers and investors are caused by lack of title
deeds. When on the campaign trail last year, President John Magufuli pledged to repossess all
undeveloped estates, farms and other property, including dormant factories and pass them on to other
people for consequential development.
Mr Lukuvi further directed all council authorities in the country to ensure all plots are surveyed and
master plans are charted out to help have well planned towns and cities.
As the government struggles to turn the country into an industrial economy, Mr Lukuvi directed planning
authorities to allocate sites for industrial activities. In Dar es Salaam, for example, he said, the authority
has already mapped about 481 plots for manufacturing activities.
The Parliamentary Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism advised the ministry to ensure
all districts have land councils as one of the major steps to address land disputes.
The committee’s Chairman, Mr Atashata Nditiye, said land conflicts were one of the chronic challenges
that needed a deliberate and fast speed to address.
