An investigation of political conflicts in land acquisition in Zambia: a case study of Mansa district of Luapula province of Zambia.

Abstract

Zambia is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. It has two land tenure types’ namely customary land tenure system and state titled land under the statutory land tenure system. Customary land tenure is the dominant system governing land administration of the major land mass of Zambia. This study focused on investigating Political Conflicts in Land Acquisition in Zambia. The study examined the effects of haphazard land administration and acquisition processes and found that Zambia’s laws relating to land especially in customary areas are currently insufficient to guide an effective administration system. It is therefore argued in this study that sidelining the antiquated British laws existing as a legacy of colonization and formulating laws that address contemporary land problems is what is needed to alleviate the land conflict issue. The objective of this research was to analyse the nature, causes of conflicts on state and customary land in Zambia and possible challenges and remedies to alleviate them. It was set on the principle that a good land governance system is a prerequisite for order and economic development. Using evidence from Mansa town, the study used both primary and secondary data to conclude that conflicts on both customary and state land are occurring with greater frequency and intensity. Amongst causes of land conflicts identified were illegal allocation of land, invasion of idle or undeveloped private or public land, double allocations, insufficient supply of affordable state land, insufficient monitoring of land use, and ineffective cadastral surveying; all symptom of an ailing land governance system. As such the purpose of the study was also to ascertain the extent to which politicians interfere with the land administration and acquisition processes in Zambia. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, a qualitative research design was used. In this regard, it is recommended that the Zambian government should work on preventing land conflicts through among other things, curbing illegal land allocations and invasion of vacant land and ensuring that land institutions adequately monitor land use.