UNECA Urges for Effective Land Governance in Africa

ENA November 26/2019 Effective land governance is critical to achieving Africa’s development Agenda 2063, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said. 

In remarks to the 2019 Conference on Land Policy in Africa that opened in Abidjan on Monday, Regional Integration and Trade Division Director at UNECA, Stephen Karingi said land was the foundational asset upon which economies were built that creates conducive environment for attracting private sector investment in Africa.

 “Globally, success in achieving the sustainable development goals is underpinned by good land governance as it contributes to eliminating poverty and hunger,” he said.

Karingi noted that environments of legal uncertainty not only undermined business confidence, but could foster corruption.

“Undeveloped systems with complex and unclear administrative processes contribute to lack of transparency and accountability in the administration of land that lead to increase the likelihood of corruption,” he said.

Corruption in the land sector has far-reaching implications for Africa’s development,” he added.

Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union, Josefa Sacko, said on her part that good land governance was essential for Africa’s development since land in Africa is an important factor of production as most livelihoods and developmental activities are undertaken on land.

Corruption in the land sector can inhibit the ability for people to access and own land which in turn marginalizes some sectors of society thereby undermining their livelihoods and perpetuating conflicts, hunger and poverty, she added.

She stressed the need to ensure effective land governance in the way that land is distributed and used to play an essential role in promoting sustainable development and achieving peace and stability on the continent.