Journal of Global Resources

Volume 4 (01)January 2018
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

Page 01-11

01
CHALLENGES OF ACCESS TO LAND FOR URBAN HOUSING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Hasrat Arjjumend1 and Mifta Negash Seid2
1

Senior Fellow Centre for International Sustainable Development Law
McGill University Faculty of Law, Montreal H3A 1X1, Quebec, Canada
Email: harjjumend@gmail.com
2
Department of Urban Management, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Addis Ababa
Email: miftanegash5@gmail.com
Abstract: Without looking at the issue of land there can be no meaningful discussion on how tosolve the problems of housing for the poor in our cities and towns. Administrative and legal
blockages such as government procedures, over-bureaucratization, transfer difficulties, etc. havebeen the major constraints of access to land for housing in urban areas of developing countries.
Consequently, the urban poor are unable to obtain land by legal means or they are unable toafford such land on market prices. Such common problems are administrative and technical due
to gaps created by policies, coupled with the lack of understanding of issues by people in power.
In sub-Saharan Africa particularly, the challenges and issues of access to land for urban
housing are urbanization, urban poverty, corruption in land sector and inadequate institutional
capacity of land administration. Sub-Saharan African countries need fundamental reform in thepolicy instruments in order to avoid the urban poor to be further impoverished.
Keywords: Access to Land; Urban Poor; Land Policy; GovernanceIntroduction
Land is fundamental to development, growth and housing delivery in any society. It is a crucial
element in property development process, and its acquisition is vital to achieving efficient andsustainable housing delivery in urban environment. Access to land and property rights is a major
key in economic growth and development (Ominrin, 2002). Providing the populace with access toland and empowering them to make effective use of it is central to poverty alleviation. Somescholars argue that land is not just only basis of life but it also supports all necessities for life toexist, and it acts as a tool for attaining social prestige, economic security and political power(Bello, 2007; Chukwujekwu, 2006). Access to land for housing development in urban areas inmany developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa, is becoming highly problematic eachpassing day. The poor, who lack economic and political power to gain access to urban land, areexperiencing severe challenges regarding land and housing accessibility in sub-Saharan Africa(Adedeji and Olotuah, 2012). As a result, most urban residents are forced to live in slums andsquatter settlements.
Legal access to land is a strategic prerequisite for the provision of adequate andaffordable housing for all. In contrast, lack of access to land is the cause for increased living
costs, the proliferation of slums and informal settlements, environmental degradation, and theincreased vulnerability of urban poor and women-headed households, and other marginalized
and disadvantaged groups (UN-Habitat, 2011). Further, the land is a public property and an
individual can enjoy only the user right of land under his/her possession. The means to acquire
legally (formally) a plot of land for housing development and for investment purpose is dependent
on the efficiency of lease policy application. This discussion paper encompasses the land
accessibility issues in urban settings in sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on Ethiopia.
According to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation, even though theurban centers housed a small proportion of the total population in Ethiopia, most of these places
are characterized by acute shortage of housing and overcrowding. The problem may be
aggravated by difficulties of individuals in obtaining access to land for housing. However, urban
1

land issues and housing are claimed to have been neglected by scholars, while extensive rural
land studies were carried out (Solomon, 1994). Yet, this article explores the issue from policy
perspectives.
Importance of Accessing Land in Urban Areas
The role of land in urban development is multidimensional. Land is the major input in constructionof residential, commercial and industrial structures as well as in the provision of public investment
projects, streets, parks, sewers, etc. It also plays a key role in urban fiscal affairs (Wanger, 1984).
Land is supposed to be the fundamental to development, growth and housing delivery in any
society. It is a crucial element in property development process. Ominrin (2002) emphasizes thataccess to land and property rights is a major key in economic growth and development. It is now
increasingly being realized that economic development of any country depends on how efficiently
land is distributed among citizenry and competing urban uses. It is pertinent to note that providing
the populace with access to land and empowering them to make effective use of it is central topoverty alleviation program. Some scholars argue that the land is not only basis of life but it also
supports all necessities for life to exist, and it acts as a tool for attaining social prestige, economic
security and political power (Bello, 2007; Chukwujekwu, 2006). It is noteworthy, therefore, toknow that having unconstrained access to land is a tool against poverty and homelessness.
Further, the importance of land is reiterated by Berner (2000) while quoting: “...aprecondition for subsisting in an urban environment is access to the use of urban land to build ahouse to put up a hut, or at least to find a temporary space for sleeping, eating anddefecating…from this point of view access to urban land becomes the most basic human need inan urban area…” (Evers, 1984:481). Thus, the land is central to solving housing issues. It is
required more than anything else; thereby, access to secure land is the thing that separates thepoor from the non-poor in developing countries. Such notions indicate that the land is crucial
element in housing the urban poor. Without land, there can be no housing. So, without looking at
the issue of land there can be no meaningful discussion on how to solve the problems of housing
for the poor in our cities and towns. The inaccessibility of decent, secure, affordable land is the
major reason why there are so many slums in cities of developing countries. Simultaneously,
stopping the wheel of urbanization seems impossible. Market forces, which are pushing up thecost of urban land, are making the land inaccessible to majority of city dwellers, especially poor
(UN-Habitat, 2012).
Access to Land for Urban Housing in Developing Countries
The access to land is considered a critical element in the betterment of the living conditions ofurban dwellers, and to improve the overall development of towns and cities. According to
Doebele (1987), most studies show that access to land for urban housing is a critical elementin providing people with upward mobility in economic and social status. He signifies thecondition as follow: “It is through the acquisition of a small parcel of land that people establishedthemselves in urban economy. It is on this parcel that they engage in brick-by-brick capitalization,
gradually accumulating the materials for a house or, in later stages, the addition of a rental unitthat not only brings them income but adds to the housing stock of the city without the use of
public funds.” Doebele (1987) further signifies that effective action to assure access to a parcel ofland in urban places is not only necessary for social justice, but also is fundamental to assure that
all members of the society are as economically productive as their talents and energies permit
them to be. Consequently, a secure parcel and house can be the basis for small commercial andindustrial enterprise in which the whole family may become economically productive. The sameland parcel and house provide a financial cushion against loss of outside employment throughillness or economic downturns.
Although land for urban housing is obtained through different forms of conditions such as
customary allocation, inheritance, purchase, etc., in many developing countries the urban land on
which urbanization occurs is public land which can only be allocated through government
procedures (Faravacque and McAuslan, 1992). Access to such public land is said to have been
constrained by different problems and issues. Some scholars admit that administrative and legal
blockages such as government procedures, over-bureaucratization, transfer difficulties, etc. havebeen the major constraints of access to land for housing in urban areas of developing countries
2

(McAuslan, 1992; Turner, 1980). In this regard, McAuslan (1992) indicates that even though rapid
urban growth in all countries of the developing world necessitates urban land in bulk, few
governments have the administrative capacity or legal framework in place to cope with thisdemand; and the blockages, which eventually occur in the process of making land available, have
served deleterious consequences. As a result, the urban poor are unable to obtain land by legalmeans or they are unable to afford such land on market prices. They are resultantly forced toresort to unauthorized settlements.
Factors Constraining Access to Land in Developing Countries
There are various obstacles hindering access to land for the urban poor. These obstacles areuniversal in nature. Access to serviced land for housing is one of the major problems faced bypractically all developing countries. In most cities of developing countries, the urban poor andeven the middle-income group often have to step outside the formal land market to gain access toland and housing. Generally speaking, in the cities of developing countries the informal landmarket is much bigger than the formal market. To improve the operation of the formal land market
it is necessary to understand the constraints that are preventing it from operating efficiently. It was
found that the finance, policies, regulation, laws and other instruments formulated to improve theefficiency of the land market have often themselves become constraints requiring change. It issuggested that it will be necessary for governments to recognize the informal market and workwith it, rather than ignore or oppose it as at present, to overcome these constraints (Sivam, 2002).
A lack of financial power to access the land through the market is one of the mostcommon obstacles particularly for the poor. Rigidity, and sometimes ambiguity, in policies
governing land generally exclude the poor from accessing land. According to the World Bank
(2003), the land policies are at the root of social conflicts in countries as diverse as Cambodia
and Colombia, Zimbabwe and Cote d'Ivoire. Zimbabwe’s current political turmoil is live proof ofthis. Political controversies, the complexity of land issues and the fact that the benefits of policy
improvements do not accrue to people, are hindrances of reform. Constraints to access to land
can be, and are, country specific. Every developing country has its own obstacles. Theseobstacles can be physical or practical. For instance, Bertaud (1997) states that topography andland-use regulations severely restrict the land supply in Hong Kong. Delays in clarifying andregistering titles are constraints for private sector developers (Kitay, 1987). In some urban areas,
there are extensive land holdings and government policies that have not assisted in dealing withthis issue. This is most common in many Asian countries, for example, Malaysia (Evers, 1983). In
Pakistan, land conveyance is the main problem and presents difficulties in relation to establishingtitle to land, which delays housing developments.
While the above demonstrates that common problems are administrative and technicaldue to gaps created by policies, others argue that the lack of understanding of issues by people inpower make the problem considerably more difficult than envisaged. Scholars state that: “theresistance to act decisively on land issues appears to stem either from the lack of understandingon the part of those in positions of power and influence as to where action is really needed, orfrom their pursuit of short-sighted selfish interest while compromising their social responsibilities”(Angel et al., 1983). Thus, it is demonstrated that the factors that constrain to access the land fordelivery of housing as experienced in different countries are larger and more complex than werefirst envisaged.
Scenarios of Access to Land for Urban Housing in Sub-Saharan Africa
Adequate supply of land is generally recognized as a prerequisite for sustainable housing delivery
system notwithstanding the important role it plays in the socio-economic life of people. It has been
observed that access to land for housing development in urban areas in many developing
countries of sub-Saharan Africa is becoming highly problematic with each passing day. In mostAfrican countries, urban land has increasingly become a commodity to be acquired and sold tothe highest bidder. The low‐income earners, who lack economic and political power to gain
access to urban land for housing construction in suitable locations, are facing severe accessibility
challenges in sub-Saharan Africa (Adedeji and Olotuah, 2012). Consequently, majority of urban
residents are forced to live in slums and squatter settlements characterized by lack of secured

3

tenure, paucity of basic services and general poor housing conditions (Oruwari, 2006; Hall, 2007;
Ademiluyi and Raji, 2008).
Recognizing the inevitability of urban population growth and the concomitant
increase in the demands for shelter, the developing countries were trying to solve theissues through public or subsidized housing provisions, but their efforts have totally been
inadequate to meet the growing shelter needs in their urban centers (Huyck, 1968). Given
the inevitability of urbanization and the scarcity of governmental budgets, the problem of
housing can only be solved if all the needy or interested individuals are able to constructtheir own houses. However, this ability has been, to large extent, dependent on thepossibility of their obtaining access to land for housing in the right location and at right price(Suzanami, Kindokoro and Siang, 1992). Yet, gaining access to land for housing in urban
areas of developing countries seems to be very difficult task. The situation is, in part,
manifested by the fact that the production rates of dwelling units have always beenmuch lower than requirements (Stone, 1993), and, in part, by the tendency of some urban
residents to live in squatter settlements (Turner, 1980; Huyck, 1968; Abrams, 1970).
Challenges & Issues of Access to Land for Urban Housing in Sub-Saharan Africa
The major challenges of access to land for urban housing in sub-Saharan African countries are
discussed below:
Urbanization
Urbanization is a composite of both social and spatial dimensions over a time expansion. It
includes the relationship between urban people and urban land. This relationship leads to theformation of urban properties such as buildings, infrastructure, or built urban environment moregenerally. Both vertical and horizontal urban growth and associated socio-economic activities
are underpinned by the availability of urban land. Hence, the dynamics of an urbanizing world
coupled with constant changes in land use/cover has been recognized as being an important
aspect of human imprints over time and space (Scheuer, Haase and Volk, 2016).
In recent times, a higher rate of urban population growth is experienced thanpreviously. This unprecedented demographic change creates a more urbanized global
population for the first time: since 2007, the global urban population has exceeded the rural
population. Reports show that the world’s population is rapidly increasing and this is projected toreach some 9 billion by 2050. By 2015, 54 percent (4 billion) of the world’s population lived inurban areas and this urban population had multiplied more than tenfold in the past a century, from
224 million in 1900 to 2.9 billion in 1999 (UN-Habitat, 2016). As UN-Habitat projection shows, thegrowth of urban population, particularly in the developing world, is expected to be twofold
between 2000 and 2030 (UN-Habitat, 2016). The urban population is expected to continue togrow; by 2050, the world will have one-third rural population (34 per cent) and two-thirds urban
population (66 per cent), roughly the reverse of the global rural-urban population distribution of
the mid-twentieth century (UN-Habitat, 2014). Accordingly, the urban centers across Africa aregoing to become the future habitat for the majority of Africans. By mid-2030s, 50 per cent ofAfricans are expected to become urban dwellers. The size of Africa’s urban population nearly
doubled in 20 years from 237 million in 1995 to 472 million in 2015. Africa’s urban population is
expected to double between 2015 and 2035. Similarly, the total population in sub-Saharan Africa
is expected to grow at a faster pace than any other region in the decades ahead, which would
increase from 823 million in 2010 to 1.9 billion in 2050 (UN-Habitat, 2014).
As the urban population increases, the land area occupied by cities has increased at evenhigher rate. A global sample of 120 cities, observed between1990 and the year 2000, shows thatwhile the population grew at a rate of 17 per cent on an average, the built-up area grew by 28 percent (UN-Habitat, 2016). It has thus been projected that by 2030 the urban population ofdeveloping countries will double, while the area covered by cites would triple (UN-Habitat, 2016).
The unprecedented growth of the urban population in Africa and other parts of the developingworld is causing an exceptionally rapid increase in the demand for urban land. Since theurbanization is poorly managed, it causes different problems such as informal settlements,
poverty, and poor waste management. It can be said that, in other words, the urbanization4

creates stress on the urban land and is detrimental to the urban development. And, coincidentally,
poorly managed urbanization in most cases is a routine feature of developing countries (Cohen,2006) including Ethiopia.
Urban Poverty
In context of Africa, the economists and development practitioners have consensus that income
inequality, conflicts, location, natural disasters, ill health and disability, inheritance of poverty, andhuman capital. in sub-Saharan Africa discusses the drivers and maintainers of poverty educationand skills, and gender discrimination may cause poverty (Kabuya, 2007, cited in Kabuya, 2015).
Similarly, Korf, Bogale and Hagedorn (2005) found that poverty is linked to the lack of resource
endowments such as land and house. At the same time, Handley, Higgins and Sharma (2009)classify causes of poverty into two broad categories: socio-economic factors such as risk andvulnerability and low capabilities, and political economic factors such as non-developmental
politics, corruption, and the resource curse. According to capabilities approach presented by Sen(1982), the positive freedom, a person’s actual ability to be or to do something, and declining
wages, unemployment, rising food prices, and food-distribution systems are the causes of poverty
in developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa (Sen, 1982). Batano and Bucekuderhwa(2015) studied that the household’s socioeconomic factors, physical and human capital, percapita income are significant factors behind a household’s poverty level; and the female
household heads are poorer than their male counterparts. Finally, the urban poverty is also
attributed to the access to micro-credit, education, participation in agricultural seminars, livestock
assets and location in high potential areas that significantly influence the probability ofhouseholds exiting chronic poverty (Owuor, Ouma and Birachi, 2007).
Looking at the land availability in urban areas, the access to land for the urban poor has
become a critical issue in a context of growing informality and the urbanization of poverty.
Conventional approaches have failed to distribute land in an equitable and fair manner and policymakers realize that intervention in the land market is necessary in a bid to make land markets
work for the poor. Land price is a critical factor in accessing the affordable housing. High land
prices, resulting from market forces (demand and supply), and restrictive legal framework
together with low family incomes turn land into a single biggest component responsible for risingcost of urban housing in many developing countries (UNEP, 2002).
Corruption in Land Sector
According to Transparency International (2011), corruption in the land sector can be generally
characterized as pervasive and without effective means of control. It can be found in statutory as wellas in customary systems. It can vary from small-scale bribes and fraud (e.g. administrative
corruption), to high-level abuse of government power and political positions (e.g. political corruption).
Corruption, whether administrative or political, does not favour the establishment of long-term nationalor local land strategies. When corruption is present in the land sector, related actions and decisions
are driven by distorted interests and policies that favour the few (Palmer, Fricska, and Wehrmann,2009). Corruption that occurs in public administration and government services is a common
feature in the land sector. It can take the form of small bribes that need to be paid to register theproperty, change or forge titles, acquire land information, process cadastral surveys, andgenerate favourable land use plans (van der Molen and Tuladhar, 2007). Such bribery isfacilitated by complicated processes. Political corruption in the land sector aims to gain control
over a country’s resources. Political corruption in the land sector relies on broader weaknesses or
breakdowns in governance that compromise institutions’ transparency, accountability andintegrity. Illegal actions by elected leaders, public officials and the private sector may go
unpunished as key national institutions are co-opted to serve the interests of the few. Parliamentand parliamentary committees may be influenced or even controlled by members who haveconflicts of interest when it comes to policy decisions on land governance. Judges may rule infavour of public officials and companies when land disputes arise, irrespective of evidence andthe law (Transparency International, 2011). Corruption can involve various actors, ranging frompublic officials and local leaders to outside investors. Actors may include government officials (atthe local and national level) as well as individuals that command political and economic power.
Customary and communal authorities may also be involved, engaging in corrupt dealings and5practices. Sometimes eviction risks are closely linked to opaque dynamics between public andprivate actors engaged in corrupt practices (Jaitner, Caldeira and Koynova, 2017).
Inadequate Institutional Capacity of Land Administration
Evidences from different countries show that much of the inefficiency has been ascribed to theland administration systems are related with institutional capacity. Practical experiences in many
developed countries suggest that adequate institutional capacity and strong land administration
systems go hand to hand while lack of institutional capacity can decline the efficiency of land
administration systems. Institutional capacity ensures good governance in the field of land
administration through creating and strengthening participatory institutions, decentralizing thedecision-making and building sustainable partnerships with the private sector and stakeholders.
Masum (2011) notes that problems in land administration institutions are endemic which hinder
achieving land management goals.
Performance of many land administration institutions is poor due to lack of transparency,
absence of accountability, widespread corruption and abuse of power, lack of human resources
and technology, expensive and bureaucratic procedures as well as delays in service delivery(Burns, 2006; Wijetunga, 2008; van der Molen and Tuladhar, 2006). The causes of institutional
weaknesses are diversified but related to institutional capacity. These may be categorized into
two types broadly: (1) problems with resource related capacity, e.g. lack of human resource,
technology and funding; and (2) problems related with management and administrative capacity,e.g. corruption, abuse of power, bureaucratic and expensive procedure, and lack of coordination
with other institutions. It is commonly experienced that a system without proper procedures, legal
framework, transparency, inclusiveness, honesty and responsibility affects the efficient use ofurban land. The defunct delivery system leads to illegal procedures, land speculations, market
distribution, illegal and/or squatter settlement, poor infrastructure and service provision,
inadequate collection of revenue and so on (GoZ, 2005). Moreover, informal settlement emerges
due to the failure of the municipality in providing sufficient plots of land for housing and their weakcapacity to enforce regulations, although the problem is further exacerbated by the speculative
tendencies on the part of peri-urban farmers, brokers (delalas) and corrupt bureaucrats andadministrators.
Case of Ethiopia: Challenges and Issues
Landlessness is a major problem in Ethiopia. One of the reasons is the high and increasingly growing
population (Ethiopia is currently Africa’s second most populous country). According to Central
Statistics Agency (CSA) of Ethiopia, the urban population of Ethiopia is projected to nearly triple from
15.2 million in 2012 to 42.3 million in 2037, growing at 3.8 percent a year (CSA, 2013). Similarly, thepopulation of Addis Ababa city is projected to grow over 8.1 million by 2040. In the context of rapidly
growing urban populations the urban land and access to adequate housing would become ahighly sought-after commodity (World Bank, 2012b). Another serious issue is of land grabbing andresettlement. Human rights activists and experts warn about the negative impacts of agriculturalinvestments and the government’s so-called “villagization” programme, which have forcibly displaced
thousands of people from their lands (World Bank, 2012b). Moreover, the land sector is highly
exposed to corruption in Ethiopia. According to Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission(FEACC) of Ethiopia, the corruption can take a variety of forms in this sector, ranging from (petty)
bureaucratic corruption and corruption in auctioning processes to the state capture. There arenumbers of elements in Ethiopia’s current urban land administration system that can create
potential entry points for corrupt activities to occur. These include: lack of clear policies, weak
institutions, lack of transparency, limited public participation, and capacity challenges (World
Bank, 2012a).
In Ethiopia, the urban land is handled by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
Construction (MoUDHCo) at federal level. The MoUDHCo, as the coordinator of national urban
land affairs through its Land Development and Management Bureau, supports urban local
governments with policy implementation, planning, capacity building, and guideline formulationand implementation concerning urban land development and management. Urban land
administration is delegated under the federal constitution to city governments and municipalities.
The implementation of urban land development policies and administration functions at city or
6town level are handled by city administrations in accordance with relevant regional legislations. In
most of the urban centers of country, the land-related matters and functions are handled by the‘department of urban planning and land administration’ set up in the municipal service office. This
department is responsible for making decisions on land use and land development tasks, keeping
records, underpinning secure tenure and facilitating transactions. However, it is observed that thefunctions performed by city administrations and the instruments available to them are not yetaligned with the tried and tested international practices (World Bank, 2012a). Particularly in theabsence of an independent system of registering or recording real estate transactions, cityadministrations record the transactions, certify property rights, and maintain records and files.
Moreover, the departments in the city administrations are directly involved in land acquisition anddelivery processes for different urban development purposes.
The Constitution of FDRE also provides that government may expropriate private property
for public purpose subject to compensation, which is equivalent to the value of property under
Article 40(5)1 of the Constitution. Under the Land Policy of Ethiopia, land needed by government
for development work may become the subject of compulsory acquisition. The enabling legislationis the proclamation to provide for the expropriation of land holdings for public purpose andpayment of compensation (Proc. No. 455/2005)2. Proclamation No. 455/20053 provided forcompensation of property situated on land and permanent improvement to such land equal to thevalue of labour and capital expended. But in practice, local governments are not compensating forworks such as land clearance, irrigation ditches and terracing. In addition, no compensation ispaid for indigenous trees and communal land (Andrew, 2007). Moreover, land expropriation in
Ethiopia encountered resistance from farmers because of unfair compensation and lack oftransparency before and after compensation.
In recent past, the land tenure4 in Ethiopia has undergone dramatic shifts – from feudalistic
systems under the monarchy of Emperor Haile Selassie (1930-1974) to socialist land policies
under the Derg military government (1974-1991) to the current system under Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 1991. These changes in land administration
regime have left populations in uncertainty about their rights (Tetra Tech, 2013). Today, Ethiopia'sland administration is a major source of concern given the country’s level of poverty anddevelopment. The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE), underarticle 40(3), states that the type of landholding as:“The right to ownership of rural land and urban land, as well as of all natural resources, is
exclusively vested in the state and the peoples of Ethiopia. Land is a common property of
the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia”.
Currently, urban land is governed and administered by the urban land lease hold law, which
has been subjected to changes three times since its first enactment in 1993. The Constitutionof Ethiopia does not say anything about urban land, it can be argued that this proclamation, andthe subsequent lease proclamations for that matter, lacks Constitutional base. The first urban

1

2

3

4

Article 40(5) of Ethiopian Constitution states that without prejudice to the right of ownership of land by thenations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, the state shall guarantee the right of private investors to the use ofland upon payment of money, the amount of which is to be determined by law. The particulars shall be determinedby law.
Proclamation No. 455/2005 (1) states that, a woreda (district) or an urban administration shall, upon payment inadvance of compensation in accordance with this Proclamation, have the power to expropriate rural or urban
landholdings fir public purpose where it believes that it should be used for a better development project to be
carried out by public entities, private investors, cooperative societies or other organs, or where such expropriation
has been decided by the appropriate higher regional or federal government organ for the same purpose.
Article 7(4) of Proclamation No. 455/2005 states that the compensation for permanent improvement to land shallbe equal to the value of capital and labour expended on the land.
The term ‘tenure’ is derived from a Latin term for ‘holding’ or ‘possessing’ land. Therefore, ‘land tenure’ refers to
the manner in which land rights are held, used and transacted (Bruce, 1998). Land tenure is a social constructwhich defines the relationships between individuals, groups of individuals and the state with respect to land
(UNECA, 2004; FAO, 2002; Bruce, 1998). A given land tenure system determines who can use which resources
for how long, and under what conditions.
7

land leasehold law (Proc. 80/1993) was endorsed in 19935. This law was repealed by anotherproclamation in 2002 (Proc. 272/2002)6 and it again was replaced by the current proclamation in
October 2011 (Proc. 721/2011)7.
Urban land is provided to the people through a lease system, a perpetual permit systemand separate legislation for condominiums. The lease system has terms ranging up to 99 years. It
requires payment of the agreed-on lease amount to the relevant government within a period to be
determined by regions or city government within the lease contract. The permit system
predominantly refers to permits granted prior to 1993 under which an annual land rent is paid to
the government (World Bank, 2012a). There were five modalities of urban land acquisition:auction, negotiation, assignment, award, and lot. Since most of them are categorized as badpractices that opened door for corruption, the new law recognizes only tender (auction) andallotment (land lease transfer without auction) as the two basic means of lease transfer fromgovernment to citizens (Art.6 of Proc. 721/2011)8.
Despite wide recognition of the right to adequate housing as a central human right ininternational legislation, during the previous regimes of Ethiopia millions of people were facing
violations of their housing and land rights. Currently, the important dimensions of Ethiopia’s urban
development policy, as they relate to the land policy, are: ensuring the equitable distribution ofland to both the rich and poor, facilitating mechanisms by which low income groups are allocatedadequate land at reasonable cost, promoting urban-rural and urban-urban linkages, support forsmall and micro enterprise and job creation, integrated housing development. Improved access toland by the poor is, therefore, recognized as a key to ending poverty by the federal government ofEthiopia (Belachew, 2010). In practice, although urban land policy tried to bring good sense in theland allocation process and the putting in place of various policy strategies that seek to address
the needs of the poor, a number of challenges have been observed. Such challenges include:
constraints in price rise and in demand for urban land, increased bureaucratic tendencies, weak
monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, inadequate databank systems, shortage of financial
resources, lack of participation by the poor, inadequate official records about poverty, the poor’s
lack of ability to pay for the land, lack of transparency in service delivery, poor being less active or
not engaged in the land delivery process, most land allocation procedure based on the bidding
system which favors the most affluent, and existing requirements of standards (Abuye, 2006).
Conclusion
The access to land empowers the poor to alleviate poverty, attain social prestige, enjoy economic
security and embrace political power. So, effective action to assure access to a parcel of land in
urban area is not only essential for social justice, but is also fundamental to assure that all
members of the society are economically productive. The access to land for housing provides afinancial cushion against loss of employment through illness or economic downturns. It is
articulated that in the cities of developing countries the informal land market is much bigger than
the formal market. The finance, policies, regulation, laws and other instruments formulated to
improve the efficiency of the land market have often themselves become constraints requiringchange. Rigidity and ambiguity in policies governing land generally exclude the poor fromaccessing land. In African countries, generally, urban land has increasingly become a commodity
to be acquired and sold to the highest bidder. The poor, who lack economic and political power togain access to urban land for housing in suitable locations, are facing severe accessibility
challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. The challenges and issues of access to land for urban
housing in Sub-Saharan Africa have been distinctly identified, which are urbanization, urban
poverty, corruption in land sector and inadequate institutional capacity of land administration. For
5

6

7

8

The 1993 lease proclamation indicates that the regulation is being applied only to urban land permitted to be heldby lease. This proclamation was not applicable to an urban land held by other means prior thereto.
Proclamation No. 272/2002 repealed the first law and declared that any urban land held by the permit system, theleasehold system, or by any other means prior thereto should be under lease system.
The newly enacted Proclamation No. 721/2011 has addressed important issues that are not covered in previous
lease policies such as: failure to push permit holders to make annual rent payments for use rights, the absence offormalizing informal tenure, and consolidation of the permit and leasehold tenure systems.
According to Article (6) of Proc. 721/2011, an urban land shall be permitted to be held by leasehold: through themodality of tender or allotment.
8

example, despite progressive current land law in place, land expropriation in Ethiopia
encountered resistance from farmers because of unfair compensation and lack of transparency
before and after compensation. Ultimately, Ethiopia is bound to face acute challenges andconstraints. The solution of problems lies in taking corrective measures in land administration andpolicies addressing the land tenure in rural areas.
References
Abrams, C. (1970), Man's Struggle for Shelter in an Urbanizing World. Massachusetts: The MIT
Press, pp.25.
Abuye, A. (2006), Synoptic reflection on urban land administration issues in Ethiopia. Landadministration decisions makers Meeting, Windhoek, 7-8 December 2006, ITC-United
Nations University, Polytechnic of Namibia, 2006.
Adedeji, Y.M.D. and Olotuah, A.O. (2012), “An Evaluation of Accessibility of Low Income Earners
to Housing Finance in Nigeria”, European Scientific Journal, 8(12): 80-95
Ademiluyi, I. and Raji, B. (2008), “Public and Private Developers as Agents of Urban Housing in
Sub-Saharan Africa: The Situation in Lagos State”, Humanity and Social Sciences
Journal; 3(2): 143‐150.
Andrew, H. (2007), Compulsory Purchase and Compensation Recommendations for Good
Practice. International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Copenhagen, Denmark.
Angel, S., Archer R.W., Tanphiphat S. and Wegelin E.A. (1983), Acting on the Land Issue. Land
for Housing the Poor. Bangkok, Thailand: The Craftsman Press Ltd.
Batano, G. and C. Bucekuderhwa (2015), “Determinants des Inegalites de Revenu a Burhale au
Sud-Kivu or Determinants of Income Inequality in Burhale, South Kivu Province”, Working
Paper, 01, Catholic University of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Belachew, Y. (2010), ‘Urban Land Lease Policy of Ethiopia: Case Study on Addis Ababa andLease Towns of Amhara National Regional State’, FIG Congress 2010, Facing the
Challenges Building the Capacity Sydney, Australia, 11-16 April 2010.
Bello, M.O. (2007), Accessibility of land as a tool for empowering the low-income earners of theinformal sector. FIG Working Week, Honk Kong, China.
Berner, E. (2000), Informal Developers, Patrons, and the State: Institutions and Regulatory
Mechanisms in Popular Housing. Paper presented at the ESF/N-AERUS Workshop'Coping with informality and illegality in human settlements in developing cities', 23 - 36
May, 2000. Leuven.
Bertaud, A. (1997), Measuring Constraints on Land Supply: The Case of Hong Kong. Available
online: http://alain-bertaud.com/images/HK-outline4.pdf
Bruce, J.W. (1998), ‘Review of land tenure terminology’, Tenure Brief, No. 1, Land Tenure Centre,
University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Burns, T. (2006), “International experience with land administration projects: A framework formonitoring of pilots”, paper presented at the National Workshop on Land Policies andAdministration for Accelerated Growth and Poverty Reduction in the 21st Century, New
Delhi, January 5-6, 2006.
Chukwujekwu, I.E. (2006), “Facilitating Low Cost Housing Scheme: Which Way Forward?”,
Journal of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria, 1(10):45-52.
Cohen, B. (2006), “Urbanization in developing countries: Current trends, future projections, andkey challenges for sustainability”, Technology in Society, 28:63-80.
CSA (2007), Population and Housing Census. Central Statistical Authority, Addis Ababa.
Doebele, W.A. (1987), “Land Policy”, In Lloyd Rodwin (ed.), Shelter, Settlement andDevelopment. Boston: Allen & Unwin. pp.110-132.
Evers, H.D. (1983), “Urban Landownership, Ethnicity and Class in Southeast Asian Cities”,
Working Paper No.38, Sociology of Development Research Centre, Bielefeld University,
Germany.
Evers, H.D. (1984), “Urban land ownership, ethnicity and class in Southeast Asian cities”,
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 8(4): 481–496.
FAO, (2002), Gender and access to land: Land tenure studies, volume 4. FAO, Viale delle Terme
di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. Online: http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y4308E/
y4308e04.htm, accessed on January 8, 2017.

9

Farvacque, C. and McAuslain, P. (1992), “Urban Management and Land: Reforming Urban Land
Policies and Institutions in Developing Countries”, Urban Management Program Policy
Paper. No.5, The World Bank, Washington, D.C. May, 1992.
GoZ (2005), National Housing Policy Final Draft. Government of Zanzibar.
Hall, P. (2007), “Urban Land, Housing and Transportation: The Global Challenge”, Global Urban
Development Magazine, 3(1): 35-40.
Handley, G., K. Higgins and B. Sharma (2009), “Poverty and Poverty Reduction in Sub-SaharanAfrica: An Overview of Key Issues”, Working Paper 299, Overseas Development Institute,London.
Huyck, A.P. (1968), “The Housing Threshold for Lowest- Income Groups: The case of India”, InJohn D. Herbert and Alfred P. Van Huyck (eds.), Urban Planning in the Developing
Countries. New York: Frederik A. Praeger Publishers. pp.71-92.
Jaitner, A., Rute Caldeira and Svetla Koynova (2017), “Transparency International - Land
Corruption in Africa: Finding Evidence, Triggering Change”, Paper presented at the ‘2017
World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty’, The World Bank, Washington DC, March
20-24, 2017.
Kabuya, F.I. (2007), Canada Economics for African Nations: Principles, Problems an Policies,
Victoria: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 1-4251-1306-0.
Kabuya, Francois I. (2015), “Fundamental Causes of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa”, IOSR
Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 20(6):78-81.
Kitay, M. (1987), “Public-private cooperation for the development of low-income shelter”, Habitat
International, 11(1): 29-36.
Korf, B., A. Bogale and K. Hagedorn (2005), “Determinants of poverty in Rural Ethiopia”,
Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, 44(2):101-120.
Masum F. (2011), Strengthening Individual and Institutional Capacity and Developing Framework
for Good Governance: The need for an Integrated Approach for Proper Land
Administration. FIG Working Week 2011, Bridging the Gap between Cultures Marrakech,
Morocco, 18-22 May 2011.
McAuslan, P. (1992), Institutional/Legal Arrangements for Improved Administration of Land
Development. Regional Development Dialogue, Vol. 13. No.1. United Nations Center for
Regional Development, Nagoya. Pp.14-16.
Omirin, M.M. (2002), “Issues in Land Accessibility in Nigeria”, Proceedings of a National
Workshop on Land Management and Property Tax Reform in Nigeria, Department of
Estate Management, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria.
Oruwari, Y. (2006), “Lest We Forget: The Poor People Need Housing in the Urban Areas in
Nigeria too: A reflection of Low‐income housing provision”, In Okewole, A.I. et al. (eds.):
The Built Environment: Innovation Policy and Sustainable Development, Ota: Nigeria,
pp.2‐9.
Owuor, G., A.S. Ouma and E.A. Birachi (2007), “Determinants of Rural Poverty in Africa: Thecase of small holder farmers in Kenya”, Journal of Applied Sciences, 7(2007):2539-2543.
Palmer, D., Fricska, S. and Wehrmann, B. (2009), Towards Improved Land Governance. Land
Tenure Working Paper 11. http://www.fao.org/3/a-ak999e.pdf
Scheuer, S., Haase D. and Volk M. (2016), “On the Nexus of the Spatial Dynamics of Global
Urbanization and the Age of the City”, PLoS ONE, 11(8).
Sen, Amartya (1982), Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlements and Deprivation. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
Sivam, A. (2002), “Constraints Affecting the Efficiency of the Urban Residential Land Market in
Developing Countries: A Case Study of India”, Habitat International, 26(2002):523–537.
Solomon, G. (1994), ‘Urban land issues and policies in Ethiopia: Land Tenure Project’, Institute ofDevelopment Research, Addis Ababa University, p.25.
Stone, M.E. (1993), Shelter Poverty: New Ideas on Housing Affordability. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press. p.2
Suzanami, H., Kindokoro, T. and Siang, L.M. (1992), “Improving Land Access for the Poor in
Asian Megacities”, Regional Development Dialogue, Vol.13, No.1. United Nations Center
for Regional Development, Nagoya. p.3
Tetra Tech (2013), “Ethiopia Strengthening Land Administration Program”, available online:
http://www.tetratechintdev.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=524:ethiopia
strengthening-land-administration program&Itemid=223&lang=us10

Transparency International (2011), ‘Corruption in the land sector’, Working Paper 04, published 8
November 2011.
Turner, J.C. (1980), Cities of the poor. London: Croom Helm.
UNECA (2004), ‘Land Tenure Systems and their Impacts on Food Security and Sustainable
Development in Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’, United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa (UNECA).
UNEP (2002), Global Environmental Outlook 3: Past, Present and Future Perspectives.
London: Earthscan.
UN-Habitat (2011), Cities and Climate Change: Global Report on Human Settlements 2011,
London: Earthscan.
UN-Habitat (2012), Handling Land: Innovative tools for land governance and secure tenure,
Nairobi: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
UN-Habitat (2014), United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development(Habitat III) First session of the Preparatory Committee New York, 17 and 18 September
2014
UN-Habitat (2016), Urbanization and Development: Emerging Futures, World cities report, NewYork 18 May 2016.
van der Molen and Tuladhar (2006), ‘Corruption and land administration’, paper published in XXIIIFIG Congress on ‘Shaping the changes’, Munich, Germany, October 8-13, 2006.
van der Molen, P. and Arbind Tuladhar (2007), ‘Corruption and land administration’, International
Federation of Surveyors (FIG), Copenhagen, Denmark.
Wanger, M.W. (1984), ‘The Role of Quantity Premiums and Discounts’, World Bank Staff
Working Paper: Market Prices and Assessed Values in Urban Land Market in
Bogota, Colombia. No. 651. Washington D.C.
Wijetunga, A.A. (2008), “Lessons Learned from Land Administration Projects in Asian and
Caribbean Countries”, Global Land Coalition Quarterly Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, March
2008
World Bank (2003), Land policies for growth and poverty reduction. A World Bank policy research
report. Washington, DC: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/
crated/en/485171468309336484/Land-policies-for-growth-and-poverty-reduction
World Bank (2012a), Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia: Perceptions, Realities, and the Way
Forward for Key Sectors. http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/book/10.1596/978-0-821395318
World Bank (2012b), The Land Governance Assessment Framework. http://siteresources.
worldbank.org/INTLGA/Resources/LGAF_Book_chapter4_Ethiopia.pdf.

11