Communal Land Ownership in Tanzania
An Examination of “The Village Land Act, 1999”
2003 Volume 2003 Issue 63 Pages 27-36
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2003 Volume 2003 Issue 63 Pages 27-36
Based on the review of the changes of land policy and the land tenure system in Tanzania, the newly established “Village Land Act” is examined in order to clarify the concept of “customary right of occupancy” and to appraise the significance for enacting the “Village Land Act” in 1999.
“Customary right of occupancy” is defined as the right of “use, earnings and disposal” in which there is a limit based on the consideration of benefit for an extended family and a community. Moreover it is an important change that defined “communal village land” for the land reserved for the communal use, which was established as a provision in “Village Land Act”.
It could be said that the system of right to land which has been based on custom becomes an enacted law through the introduction of the concept of “village land and communal village land” which is provided in the newly established “Village Land Act”.
Basically “Village Land Act” restricts assignment of land to foreigners. However there is a kind of loophole for the possibility of land assignment to foreigners through the application of “The Tanzanian Investment Promotion Act, 1997”. We can say that the crucial meaning of establishment of “Village Land Act” is adjusting the traditional custom to the trend of globalization. Then it can be said that the context of this adjustment is to find the means of survival in the present situation dominated by market economy.
Recently we have seen some arguments that the formalization of informal communal ownership is much cheaper in cost terms than establishing individual property right and implementation of registration. Newly proposed suggestion is to reinforce the transition of communal ownership into new life. It seems that this is likely to be more suitable policy for African countries.
Furthermore, this Tanzanian case can be taken as one example of legal confirmation of communal ownership. Therefore we can apply this case to many other developing countries where they have not yet introduced the concept of modern ownership.
