SYNOPTIC REFLECTION ON URBAN LAND ADMINISTRATION ISSUES

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Decision Makers Meeting On Good Administartion of
Lands Polytechnic Hotel School, Windhoek,
Nambia 7-8 December 2006

• SYNOPTIC REFLECTION ON URBAN LAND ADMINISTRATION
  ISSUES
• IN ETHIOPIA

Abuye Aneley Alemu
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URBAN Challenges and Trends

• Urban population 16
• Fast Urbanization rate 4.3 (up to 8) urban
  population about 12 Million, by the year
  202025Mill
• Growing youth Population (lt30 years)
• Urban dwellers living in extreme poverty40
• Urban un-employment 26 (40 in bigger cities)
• Cities are essentially slums (70 are slums)
• Critical housing shortage (2.25 million in ten
  years)
• Weak, lagging urban infrastructure
• Weak Municipal Finance
• Low Governance Institutional capacity

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Opportunities

• Urban Development Policy in place , principles of
  good governance and urban land allocation
  defined.
• Increased Recognition of Urban Agenda
• Institutions for urban Sector MWUD established
• PASDEP and Urban Packages prepared
• Urban Good Governance Package is prepared
• DDTA (CBDSD) studies being completed
• The Legal Institutional conditions for the
  Establishment of IULIS RPRS drafted

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• PART ONEURBAN LAND OWNERSHIP
• and TENURE

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Land ownership Tenure ( Historical perspective)

• Under the Emperor (pre-1975) there was freehold
  title. Private land ownership by individuals was
  encouraged, although the number of people who
  were actually able to own land was very
  restricted.
• Under the DERG (1975-1993) all land was
  nationalized. Private land ownership outlawed.
  Right to use property and own buildings were
  possible but no private ownership of land.
• The current government maintained the public
  ownership of land but allowed for land to be held
  by individuals and companies by way of a lease.

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Objectives of the Land Lease Policy

• Market value to Land
• Encourage Investment
• Control the undesired expansion of cities
• Provision of housing and infrastructure
• Combating speculation non-transparent system of
  land allocation

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Main challenges in Land lease Implementation

• The existing land tenure system in cities is
  complicated and resource draining.
• The conversion of permit land to lease
• The current system of mass land allocation
• The absence of an independent system of
  registering real estate transactions
• The detail requirements of land right
  registration system
• A lack of street addressing system

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• PART TWO LAND ADMINISTRATION AND LAND MANAGEMENT

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Summary of Main issues On Land Markets

• Market demand is not considered in Land
  allocation
• Increasing informal occupation of land (Active
  informal market)
• Majority of property acquired with out mortgage

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Main Issues of Land Administration

• Urban planning poorly related to rapidly evolving
  situation
• Exhaustion of available land for urban expansion
• Problems and costs related to existing and new
  urban infrastructure services
• Problems with the Leasehold and Permit Land
  regimes
• Not all lands are titled
• Land administrations devolved at the city level
  but,swamped by petty routines (time taking land
  transfer procedures)
• Weak Land Records (existing land records
  management systems are inefficient In some
  cities only about 20- 30 are registered )

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Main issues on Land Administration

• Land Rents and taxes
• Difficult to collect
• Data demanding, complex unclear
• Land Surveying
• Constraining cadastre projects
• Causing boundary conflicts
• Map exists but generally inaccessible
• ICT Geographical information Systems
• Unsustainable due to financial human resource
  constraints
• Data collection driven by master planning
  property valuation

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Proposed actions for Enhanced Land
Administration and Management Systems

• streamline administrative routines,
• Introduce strategic spatial analysis, land
  budgeting, and associated capacity building
• Set up an improved, multipurpose land grading
  system in municipalities
• Introduce new parameters and standards for
  residential subdivisions with pro-poor objectives

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Main Proposals

• Institute a Progressive Reform of the Leasehold
  Regime, including increasing rates
• Raise permit regime land rents to improved
  leasehold rent levels
• Improving Land Records and Associated Billing for
  Revenue Enhancement
• Establish municipal land servicing funds in the
  medium term
• National standards, norms and procedures for land
  registration, But with local objectives
• More secure and efficient real property
  registration system
• Better and more accessible land information

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Implementing Proposals

• Apply over 5 to 10 years through learning by
  doing
• Municipal land administration capacity
  improvements must be mainly on the job training
• Based on priorities (Economic analysis) Begin
  implementation first in pilot ULGAs
• Provide practical technical assistance imbedded
  at municipal level in pilot ULGAs
• Launch pilot digital mapping initiative urgently
• Institutional capacity to address land
  administration issues