AllAfrica News: Land and Rural Issues

Kenya: Locals Threaten Lawsuit as Del Monte Land Row Rages

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 09:12:16 GMT

[Nation] The battle to control thousands of acres of prime land held by American multinational Del Monte may soon play out in the corridors of justice if a group of aggrieved residents make good on their threat to sue.

Malawi: Issues of Land Grab Are a National Emergency - Chakwera Must Act Now!

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:36:15 GMT

[Nyasa Times] As Nyasa Times, we are deeply concerned thought immensely not surprised with media revelations regarding shady and suspicious deals surrounding continued sale of large tracts of land to foreigners especially in urban areas.

Uganda: Residents Seek Land to Upgrade Health Centre

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 07:44:21 GMT

[Monitor] Fifty -- two villages in Buyende Sub-county, Buyende District are racing against time to raise Shs9m and settle the balance for land meant to upgrade their health facility.

Namibia: Shambyu Refutes Alleged Corrupt Land Deal

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:54:15 GMT

[New Era] Rundu -- The Shambyu Traditional Authority chief council has refuted allegations of corruption by All People's Party (APP) secretary general Vincent Kanyetu, dismissing this as propaganda and claiming them as political accusations to solicit votes in the upcoming regional and local authority elections.

Namibia: City Residents Warned About Land Scam

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:50:43 GMT

[New Era] City of Windhoek mayor Fransina Kahungu is concerned over a fraudulent scheme that targets people with disabilities in Otjomuise, where a woman defrauded them purportedly in exchange for non-existent land title deeds.

Zimbabwe: Group Rejects Govt's Hollow U.S.$3,5 Billion White Farmers Compensation Fund

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 09:16:29 GMT

[New Zimbabwe] A local organisation advocating the rights of farmers disposed of their land during government's land reform process has dismissed as unfair, a recent US$3,5 billion compensation fund offered to former landowners.

Kenya: Why Omtatah Wants DPP to Revive Karen Land Case

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 08:15:24 GMT

[Nation] Activist Okiya Omtatah has taken on the public prosecutions office and the anti-graft watchdog for failing to revive a criminal case against the acting Director of Surveys, Polly Wanjiku Gatimu, who was five years ago adversely mentioned in the Sh8 billion Karen land saga.

South Africa: Land Reform Benefits Elite and the Politically Connected

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 13:14:07 GMT

[Notes from the House] South Africa's land reform programme was supposed to ensure that the impoverished get to own and work the land. Now, only the politically connected and economically included are benefitting.

Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa Ties Up Land Reform Loose Ends

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 09:38:47 GMT

[The Herald] The conclusion of the historic Global Compensation Deed (GCD) that was signed between Government and white former commercial farmers last week reflects the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa's respect for the rule of law and its desire to conclude the Land Reform Programme, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube said.

Kenya: DP Ruto's Hotel in Fresh Fight Against Land Takeover

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 08:57:54 GMT

[Nation] Weston Hotel, which is owned by Deputy President William Ruto, has launched a fresh bid for the dismissal of a suit where the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) wants to repossess land on which the facility sits.

South Africa: Land Redistribution Has Become 'Elite Capture'

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 06:29:40 GMT

[New Frame] South Africa's land reform programme was supposed to ensure that the impoverished get to own and work the land. Now, only the politically connected and economically included are benefitting.

Uganda: Kalangala Residents Defy Order to Vacate Disputed Public Land

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 17:39:46 GMT

[Monitor] Mr William Lugoloobi, the chairperson of Kalangala District, says unscrupulous people have taken advantage of the absence of a district land board committee to steal land.

South Africa: Western Cape Human Settlements On Preventing Illegal Land Grabs and Site Invasions

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 09:22:32 GMT

[Govt of SA] It's estimated that over the past 15 months, it cost the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements approximately R187 million to prevent illegal land grabs and site invasions. In addition, this past month alone, the Department has spent R18 Million to prevent illegal occupation of our housing units and vacant land earmarked for human settlement development.

Rwanda: New Land Use Masterplan Is in Line With Vision 2050 - Official

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 06:34:01 GMT

[New Times] On July 29, the Cabinet approved a new National Land Use and Development Master Plan, a document that will guide how land in the country is used for at least the next 30 years, up to 2050.

South Africa: Campaigns Failing to Stop Farm Evictions, Say Civil Society Organisations

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 10:55:10 GMT

[GroundUp] Webinar highlights plight of women on farms, calls on President to honour promise

South Africa: The Long Walk to Water in Kwazulu-Natal Villages

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 10:50:57 GMT

[GroundUp] "We as rural women don't exist for the government"

Zimbabwe: Land Scam Masterminds in Council Skating On Thin Ice

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 09:10:34 GMT

[The Herald] The Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU), which is working jointly with other law enforcement agents to expose land corruption scandals within council yesterday said investigations were at an advance stage and would soon move in to round up all councillors and officials implicated in the illicit activities.

Zimbabwe: Mutare Residents Implore Council to Dump Greedy Land Developers

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 08:07:37 GMT

[New Zimbabwe] Mutare residents and ratepayers have pleaded with the local authority to stop parcelling out land to private land developers among whom are unscrupulous land barons who have fleeced desperate home seekers of their hard-earned cash in the past few years.

Gambia: Japan Donates D770 Million to Boost Gambia's Rural Water Supply

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 15:55:24 GMT

[Foroyaa] The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, has indicated that the Government of The Gambia through its High Commission in Dakar, Senegal, on Monday July 27th 2020, signed a rural water supply project with the Government of Japan. The project which is said to be valued at 770 Million Dalasi is earmarked for the promotion of sustainable development and livelihoods of Gambians in rural communities.

Kenya: Cutting the Hand That Feeds - the Plight of Smallholder Farmers in Kenya

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 11:21:11 GMT

[Greenpeace] In the pre-colonial days of the early 1900s, Africans predominantly farmed finger millet, sorghum, pearl millet, amaranth, jute mallow, spider plant, and lablab, among other indigenous crops. The farms were so rich in biodiversity that food production thrived. This subsistence nature of farming saw crops being transferred from farm to plate.