Malawi National Land Policy - Mokoro

Ministry of Lands Page 18
provision will be made to rationalize and accord full
statutory recognition to customary land rights.
2.4 Contemporary Development Without Policy
2.4.1. The government of Malawi has operated without a comprehensive land policy since
independence. The 1965 Land Act currently in use no longer reflects the practical realities of
Malawi’s land management problems and opportunities. Consequently, the land policy
environment in Malawi has been characterized by weak planning coordination, absence of
proactive policy interventions and limited capacity for dynamic monitoring at all levels of land
administration.
2.4.2. Some of the main effects of operating without a comprehensive policy on land can be
summarized as follows:
a. Failure to deal with the land policy concerns from the 1960’s and 1970's have
indirectly contributed to today's problems of poverty, food insecurity, and perceived
inequities in access to arable land.
b. In most areas the void created by the absence of clear policy direction heightened
tenure insecurity, environmental degradation and the cultivation of marginal land areas.
Soil loss due to erosion and deforestation is currently estimated to average 20 tons per
hectare per annum.
c. Besides the loss of soil fertility and agricultural productivity, the frequency of land
tenure encroachments has increased in recent years. This trend has also been attributed
to increasing poverty and poor enforcement capabilities of government agencies.
d. Increasing environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, diminishing surface and
ground water aquifers is a manifestation of land pressure. Since 1972, total forest cover
has declined by more than 41% mainly due to the demand for wood fuel and clearing to
expand cultivation.
e. The legal structure inherited from the colonial era has been used to weaken the
customary sector and to make the estate sector bias feasible rather than reformed. This
heavy bias in favor of the estate production mode appears to contribute to the shortages
of arable land in some regions.
f. Fraudulent disposal of customary land by headpersons, chiefs and government
officials often deny critically needed access to people most desperate for land.
2.4.3. Food security, increased rural incomes and effective utilization of land can only be
assured in Malawi by a careful examination of (i) the existing tenure tenets and enabling
customs, (ii) the current land policy and enabling land legislation, and (iii) by implementing the
requirements for encouraging land policy reforms that will stimulate economic growth.
2.4.4. These observations from previous land utilization studies and the recommendations of
the Presidential Commission has reinforced the Government’s desire to accelerate the pace for
drafting a new national land policy for Malawi.
3.0 OVERVIEW OF LAND PROBLEMS
http://www.malawi.gov.mw/lands/landpol.htm 29/03/2005 15:23:13