Frank Mintah was a 2019 NELGA-DAAD scholarship holder at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He shares his story on the impact of the NELGA experience on a childhood dream.

Born and raised in Ghana’s Ashanti area, Frank grew up in an environment where he had many interactions with his family, community, and social systems. Born with an artistic flair,  Frank often listened to the radio and watched the news in his childhood days, exposing him to Ghana’s daily and rising social problems. As he got older, Frank became increasingly passionate about social change in Ghana and explained that “As I gained more knowledge and insight into these social phenomena through school, I became more passionate about the social and economic problems that affect the well-being of people. Though I was not sure how the process was going to be, I wanted to use my talent in art and design through a meaningful adventure to help resolve the critical problems of society.”

With a passion for knowledge, he got admitted into Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), NELGA’s West Africa node, to pursue a B.Sc in Human Settlement Planning in 2012. “I found this programme very relevant to my talent and passion for making an impact in society through planning for sustainable communities and land management, utilizing knowledge from a wide range of fields including social policy, economics and geography”, he says. Frank graduated in 2016 with a First-Class Honours and got the opportunity to work as a Teaching and Research Assistant at KNUST’s Department of Planning, project assistantships with the Kumasi Metropolitan Area’s Town and Country Planning Department at the Department of Transport.

Wanting to have more hands-on and regional experience on Africa’s land space, in 2017, he applied for a NELGA-DAAD scholarship to pursue an MPhil degree in Planning and Land Governance.

The NELGA-DAAD scholarship provides academic support to students to further their skills and knowledge in the land governance space in Africa. As future land policymakers and land practitioners, the scholarship supports the African Unions Land Agenda by bridging capacity gaps in land governance space towards the economic and social development of the continent.

 Like many of the scholarship recipients, he was excited to pursue his study.

“It gave me memories that will last for a lifetime. The programme offered the opportunity to complement my knowledge in land use planning with the governance arrangements that influence land-use decisions and land-use outcomes. Within my scholarship period, I also obtained the DAAD short-term research stay scholarship to undertake a research residency in Germany, at the Chair of Land Management, in the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The scholarship again allowed me to join international conferences, including the Conference on Land Policy in Africa in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and the Sustainable Development for Africa Seminar at TUM (Munich, Germany), among many other in-country research and networking events.  

Essentially, my experiences on the NELGA programme exposed me to critical issues related to land tenure security, land policy, land administration, gender and development, and environmental sustainability, at the local, national and international levels. I got a practical understanding of how social problems manifest in different forms in different places but are connected in several ways, which make intercultural learning and knowledge sharing very important in research and practice.”

After completing his Master’s in 2019, he worked with the Department of Planning (KNUST) as a Research and Project Assistant. Within that period, he engaged in various research activities and projects that relate to both land governance and national development. His research article on customary land governance and wetland management in Kumasi was published and he contributed a chapter on ‘ Discourse on women and land tenure in Ghana: Does a matrilineal land tenure system make a difference for women?’ to a book titled “Land Governance and Gender: The Tenure-Gender Nexus in Land Management and Land Policy” . In addition, he worked on national projects, including an assessment study of the Volta Lake Inland Water Transportation project, which aimed to accelerate socio-economic development for over 21 municipalities along the Volta Lake in Ghana.

NELGA mentorship, scholarship, opportunities and his personal desire for change inspired him to further his studies again. Currently, Frank is a PhD researcher at the Institute of Geography in the University of Bern, in Switzerland on Geography and Sustainable Development. As part of a broader Sustain-Forest Project, his research focuses on the governance arrangements that work for sustainable forest use and management in agricultural landscapes of West Africa, which the European Research Commission funds. He believes the knowledge and skills he gained through the NELGA program were extremely relevant to the research he is now undertaking.

Now getting closer to his career goal to be an international development expert focusing on natural resource governance, climate change, sustainable communities and sustainable development, he cites the DAAD and NELGA programme support as the crucial stepping stone that brought him closer to his aspiration. Having begun his PhD studies, he plans to utilize the international opportunities available to broaden his scope of knowledge and network, as well as contribute to policy formulation within the field of sustainable natural resources management and governance.

To read Frank’s research, click below:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026483772100510X?via%3Dihub

 https://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/FullTextPDF/2021/20210485345.pdf (chapter 11)

NELGA North Africa (NA) hub located at the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (IAV) will hold meetings that gather land professionals and highlight their contributions to the land development process of emergent economies. On February 14, 16 and 17, NELGA NA will hold a series of sessions with land experts such as surveyors, architects, notaries, chartered experts, experts in sociology and anthropology to share their visions, knowledge and expertise on land challenges in Africa. The activities aim to discuss: the priorities of land governance issues in NA, the roles of land actors and their commitment to enhance LG at the national level and in the region and to discuss the lacking capacities that needs to be further enhanced.

The sessions will allow various professionals to develop an expert profile reference document for land governance in Africa. Among other things, the reference document will provide a set of criteria to be considered a land expert in Africa in meeting contemporary land issues faced on the continent that is aligned with the AU land agenda.

From February 2-4, 2022, Queen mothers, traditional leaders, and representatives of customary land secretariats will gather in Tamale, Ghana, to discuss Ghana’s Land Act (Act 1036) 2020 and review actions to improve the legislation implementation. The meeting organised by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) through NELGA aims to create awareness and improved understanding among customary leaders on Ghana’s new land governance regime.  

The meeting will highlight the new laws influences on land administration and decision making among traditional leaders, ensuring traditional authorities, especially Queen Mothers, understand and carry out actions supporting the Land Act.

Ghana operates a dual land tenure system. There are the state system and the customary system. The state system administers about 20% of the total land in Ghana while the customary system, managed by several traditional leaders, administers the remaining 80%. This land tenure arrangement is clearly spelt out in different legislations on land, indicating that land users in Ghana could acquire land from either the state or traditional leaders. While traditional leaders have their mandate in land administration defined both in law and custom, their role is limited to the granting of various rights and interests in the land they oversee.

Traditional Leaders do not have the mandate to determine and approve land uses, nor do they manage the registration of rights and interest in land. Those functions are reserved for state agencies to perform. This means that one can negotiate and conclude an agreement for a parcel of land with a traditional leader. However, the approval for the type of use and registration of the land can only be granted by the state. The interlinkages between the functions of the state and those of traditional leaders make it necessary to have a coordination of land administration services between the two systems. Such coordination would build a stronger land tenure system that delivers secured land rights. Unfortunately, there is limited coordination between the state and the customary land tenure system, resulting in many challenges and threats to land tenure security.

The workshop will discuss both compulsory and customary land administration under the new Land Act [Act 1036] of 2020 with traditional leaders. Furthermore, to ensure a successful engagement with the traditional leaders during the meeting,  KNUST trained its research team on the MAXQDA qualitative analysis software for qualitative analysis. The research systems help scientists understand people and how social and cultural contexts influence decision-making, especially Queen Mothers regarding decisions on land within their jurisdiction. Subsequently, the research team intends to release a study that explores the role and involvement of queen mothers in the administration of land in Ghana. The study will provide informed context to queries around the participation of Queen Mothers in the administration of land and land-based decisions in four regions within mid-Ghana.

The Economic Commission for Africa ECA’s overarching focus is to support member states in achieving sustainable development and Agenda 2063. One of which is through policy support and creating an enabling environment to increase private sector investment in agriculture, infrastructure, energy and services, and improve the business-enabling environment.  In delivering the above mandate, ECA’s Agriculture and Business Enabling Environment Section (ABEE) sector assists member States in formulating and implementing evidence-based policies to support their efforts to further enhance the private sector contribution to Africa’s transformation with a particular focus on agriculture and land-related policies.

The section presented its key results for the fourth quarter of 2021 and an outlook for 2022 at during the ECA’s Annual and Fourth Quarter (Q4) Accountability and Programme Review Meeting held from 14 to 17 December.

Joan Kagwanja, Section Chief for ABEE, stated, “For ABEE, the COVID-19 pandemic and political challenges in some countries of focus provided unfavourable circumstances in meeting targets. However, we feel confident that we are turning the corner. Our fourth-quarter performance shows we are on track towards improved land tenure and security in Africa, which contributes to the continent’s economic growth and transformation and in meeting Agenda 2030 and AU agenda 2063.”

Among the key achievements, the section:

• Developed and validated five regional synthesis study reports on agro-poles development in Africa;
• Validated the African regional overview report on food security and nutrition in Africa
• Developed and reviewed four curricula for Jomo Kenyetta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya on land governance and resources management, which fosters the capacity of future land policymakers;
• For the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa, held in collaboration with AUC, AfDB, ECA, and the Government of Rwanda, over 80 paper presentations in over 60 sessions garnered over 280 articles in the media and over 1.18k in social media engagement.

“Regardless of the virtual nature of the conference,  we had over 450 unique virtual participants for the opening ceremony alone,” said Kagwanja.

Other achievements include capacity building masterclasses on land governance in Africa, publishing the fifth edition of the Africa Journal on Land policy and Geospatial Sciences for 2021, and developing the assessment report on strengthening women’s land tenure security in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some of these results were achieved while working in close partnership with COMESA, EAC, AfDB, DARBE and other development partners, including technical support to member states.

“It is expected that 2022 provides the opportunity improve the business enabling environment for attracting investments in the critical area of agriculture and land in Africa,” stated Kagwanja.

For NELGA, the fourth Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) 2021 edition unwrapped inspiring and innovative ideas relating to land policy and its implementation in Africa. Held virtually from the 1^st to  4th November 2021, CLPA was designed to accommodate critical sessions that showcased the continent’s progress in meeting the African Union land agenda. This includes the review of land administration frameworks, innovations, land management, and opportunities presented in academic research, action plans and data analysis for Africa.

With over 1,700 participants, the CLPA, which was organised by the Africa Land Policy Center (ALPC) with support of GIZ’s SLGA programme, provided the space for NELGA to contribute to the capacity development of land stakeholders in Africa. With the CLPA theme focus on Land governance for safeguarding art, culture and heritage towards the Africa We Want, the NELGA sessions aimed to provide land education, knowledge and research that is embedded in the evolving customary dynamics prevalent in the land space. Considering the hybrid nature of the CLPA, NELGA members from all over Africa had the opportunity to submit and present scientific papers to bridge research and policy gaps for land stakeholders. The session came fully loaded with ideas carefully analysed and approved by the CLPA scientific committee for presentation at the CLPA.

Besides individual NELGA members making paper presentations, land experts from NELGA teamed up to showcase innovation, best practice and progress to improve land systems in Africa in these three areas of work – Cultural dimensions in land research and training; Innovative actions towards meeting the African Union land agenda in Africa; and Analysis of land tenure systems in Northern Africa. These sessions ran between 1^st and 3^rd November and bridged knowledge gaps by presenting the findings from the comparative experience of NELGA nodes in bringing innovative solutions for sustainable land management via diverse cultural contexts in Africa. NELGA’s Programme Officer,  Dr. Desire Tchigankong, explains that the NELGA sessions educated landowners and practitioners on relevant knowledge and skills needed in securing livelihoods, economic growth, and sustainable development through the creative economy in both the rural and urban settings. These sessions, as he explained, would contribute to achieving sustainable growth while maintaining healthy land policies and cultural practices in Africa.

Africa needs more land professionals

Dr. Judy Kariuki, Economic Officer for the ALPC, spoke during the session,  Innovative actions towards meeting the African Union land agenda in Africa, on the progress the Network is making towards improving the academic land governance space in Africa. Reported progress includes the addition of land curricula at academic institutions that are framed within the principles of the AU land agenda. PhD programmes enrollment has increased and introduced in institutions which had no designated land themed programmes. Also, research now focuses on problem-solving rather than promotions which are gradually picking up within nodes and internalised in countries. Dr. Kariuki called for an increase in the number of land professionals in Africa and the introduction of African academic findings into curricula.

In line with other speakers, they recommend the regular uptake of curricula reviews and terrain assessment which takes into consideration new findings from industry experts and exposes land scholars to collaborative research and support continuous learning through a multidisciplinary approach to adequately prepare the land stakeholders and policymakers of the future for Africa.

Leverage on Innovation

“There continues to be poor understanding of how culture and heritage influences and transforms land administration systems. However, situations like the COVID-19 pandemic presented an environment to adopt new transformational approaches and leverage on technology to drive land themed campaigns, capacity development and a stronger understanding on how such themes influence the political economy of the land space in Africa,” explains Prof. Moeniba Isaacs, NELGA technical coordinator, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of Western Cape, South Africa at the masterclass on understanding how technology and innovation can improve land administration systems in diverse cultural context. She highlighted the evolution of technological innovations and synthesised them with land administration systems, bringing to light the positive result this would bring to both urban and rural communities in Africa. She explained that such innovation is characterised by what institutions and universities such as PLAAS present.

The session looked at universities as education providers and knowledge generators through research but are criticised for having a limited impact on society. For Innovation to be achieved in Universities offering land governance programs, major changes in institutional cultureare inevitable. Innovation requires collaboration with the private sector and government agencies to foster an enabling environment for innovative practices carried out by land programmes at higher institutions. This includes streamlining innovation in teaching and research, and Universities becoming systematic about scientific impact, budget for innovation and collaboration, and plan for intellectual asset management.

Land and North Africa

To improve the body of contemporary research work for policy reform on land governance in    Africa, the node embarked on a scoping study to gather baseline information on land systems in North Africa. The research provided data on capacity gaps and needs in creating an enabling environment for land reforms in Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, Egypt, and Sudan. The research findings launched in 2021 provide a foundation for curricula development in line with AU curricula guidelines on land governance in Africa.  The Scoping study was reviewed and provided context for the captured countries at the masterclass which was conveyed by the NELGA North Africa node under Prof. Moha El-Ayachi and featured  Nabila Zouhiri, Siraj Sair, Heba Allah Khalil, Sait El Azark, and Salwa Saidi as speakers.

NELGA North Africa Coordinator Prof. Moha explained during the masterclass that scoping study showcase the important role of capacity development to land management, “Capacity development is crucial to addressing land conflicts, cadastral development, urban planning, and land use strengthens the local economy. One of the ways NELGA closes these capacity gaps is by setting up  Masters degree programs on land management and building a partnership program with its North Africa member universities.” He also stressed the need for more training and research actions. In bridging this gap,  the node has set up at IAV Hassan II university a Capacity Building Centre (CBC) to build capacity gaps identified in the regional scoping study.

The preparations for the 6^th GIZ LandHub Meeting are in full progress and the GIZ Land Governance Team kindly invites you to join this year´s digital LandHub from 6 – 7 December. The GIZ LandHub Meeting stands for long-term exchange of knowledge and experience within the international land community and is the perfect opportunity for you to get in touch with colleagues from the GIZ and other organizations.

We would like to give you the opportunity to actively contribute to the event. There are two options:

Organize a full 90-minute online session on December 6 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Contribute a 25-minute online input on December 7 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Under this year’s title “Alliances for Impact: What have we achieved together?” we would like to have sessions and inputs along the following thematic tracks:

T1: Climate and Environment

T2: Gender Transformative Approaches

T3: Youth and Employment

T4: Sustainable Supply Chains and Private Sector Cooperation

T5: Securing Land Rights at Scale

T6: Policy Dialogue and Civil Society Engagement

If you would like to contribute to the upcoming LandHub, please submit your proposals for contributions to landmanagement@giz.de by November 10. Kindly fill out the forms for a 90-minute online session and/or a 25-minute online input attached to this e-mail

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us, and please feel free to share this call for proposals with your colleagues.

We look forward to seeing you at the next GIZ LandHub!

The Land Governance Team

landmanagement@giz.de

Interested in regular updates from GIZ land projects? Please register for our Newsletter under this link: https://www.giz.de/de/mediathek/newsletter.html Our newsletter is the 8th in the list of Thematic Newsletters.

The preparations for the 6^th GIZ LandHub Meeting are in full progress and the GIZ Land Governance Team kindly invites you to join this year´s digital LandHub from 6 – 7 December. The GIZ LandHub Meeting stands for long-term exchange of knowledge and experience within the international land community and is the perfect opportunity for you to get in touch with colleagues from the GIZ and other organizations.

We would like to give you the opportunity to actively contribute to the event. There are two options:

Organize a full 90-minute online session on December 6 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Contribute a 25-minute online input on December 7 from 11:00 to 12:30 (UTC+1)

Under this year’s title “Alliances for Impact: What have we achieved together?” we would like to have sessions and inputs along the following thematic tracks:

T1: Climate and Environment

T2: Gender Transformative Approaches

T3: Youth and Employment

T4: Sustainable Supply Chains and Private Sector Cooperation

T5: Securing Land Rights at Scale

T6: Policy Dialogue and Civil Society Engagement

If you would like to contribute to the upcoming LandHub, please submit your proposals for contributions to landmanagement@giz.de by November 10. Kindly fill out the forms for a 90-minute online session and/or a 25-minute online input attached to this e-mail

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us, and please feel free to share this call for proposals with your colleagues.

We look forward to seeing you at the next GIZ LandHub!

The Land Governance Team

landmanagement@giz.de

Interested in regular updates from GIZ land projects? Please register for our Newsletter under this link: https://www.giz.de/de/mediathek/newsletter.html Our newsletter is the 8th in the list of Thematic Newsletters.

The Africa Land Policy Center (ALPC), through NELGA, held its first NELGA Knowledge Exchange (NEX) webinar on September 30, 2021. The Webinar, which was hosted by NELGA technical node for Southern Africa, the Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape, featured speakers from the region and focused on the sharing case studies on hybrid municipal land governance in South Africa as a route to fixing land administration and structures in South Africa. The Webinar was supported by GIZ’s Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA) program. It featured diverse participants from across Africa, including Chiefs of stakeholder organisations, academics, land experts, doctoral students, and professionals working in the purview of land governance and administration. 

Dr. Joan Kagwanja, Chief of ALPC, expressed her delight to participate at the NEX inaugural  Webinar as knowledge gained from such learning spaces makes its way into policy spaces and strengthening institutions where land rights are discussed and promoted leading to the prosperity of the people.

Organised in both English and French, Prof. Andries Du Toit from PLAAS chaired the NEX  with presentations from Dr. Gaynor Paradza, a land expert from the public affairs research institute, and Taki Sithagu lecturer at Wits University. In setting the scene, Prof Du Toit explained that it is important to consider technical and political solutions in addressing dysfunctional land systems in South Africa. Considering that to govern the land is to govern the people on the land, Prod Du Toti stated that it is important to institutionalise knowledge that improves land administration for countries such as South Africa with its wide range of land administration systems.

The two presentations delivered in the session focused on South Africa. Dr. Gaynor Paradza insightful presentation shed light on the benefits and problems of land administration, fixing the challenges of land administration, roles of formal and informal institutions, which are municipalities and traditional leaders.  According to Dr. Paradza, “a functional land administration system is fundamental to land reform, economic growth and equitable change and pursues widely accepted national land policy goals, plans and strategies. In South Africa, however, these objectives are often discordant or contested.” Dr. Paradza based her presentation on a framework that outlines a joint project among PLAAS, South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) which calls for reforms that focus on innovative and integrated land administration as a means to reconceptualise the institutional domain of land governance and help to overcome the fragmentation that undermines land administration. To emphasis the need for innovative land administration and data management systems, she states that “the people at Google Maps know more about African land data more than land practitioners here in Africa.” (20210907_LandAdminDiagnostic.pdf (nelga.uneca.org))

The Webinar also featured a compelling presentation from Taki Situgu titled -Hybrid land administration in rural municipalities (South Africa). This presentation enabled participants to reflect on hybrid land administration as a tool to address land dysfunctions, especially on neo-customary land systems. (Hybrid Land administration (nelga.uneca.org))

Read the full report here.

Registration is now open to the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa.

The fourth edition of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA) will be held in a hybrid format on November 2- 4 2021, under the theme: “Land governance for safeguarding art, culture and heritage towards the Africa We Want”.

The Conference’s theme aligns to the African Union Declaration of 2021 as African’s Year of Art, Culture and Heritage through the theme, “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”.

Participants should register for CLPA-2021 by clicking on this link https://www.conftool.org/africalandconference2021/ to have access to the event agenda, paper abstracts, and synopses of plenary sessions, masterclasses and side events, and to presented papers, upon the completion of the event, in addition to access to individual links to all sessions.

As the conference will use Zoom as its video streaming platform, participants are also invited to register on the following zoom link, https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvc-ytrz0rHt1THarIdfOGtJGgKcOZVA8R.

However, on the zoom link, the registration details are minimal as you will only be required to provide your name and email address. Those who have not registered on the conftool platform will not have access to any of the event sessions through the Zoom links.

CLPA is organized by African Land Policy Centre (ALPC), a joint initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the African Development Bank (AfDB). It will be co-hosted by the Government of Rwanda

Joan  Kagwanja, Chief of ALPC notes that land in Africa is at the centre of culture and heritage, which provides a framework for a continental discourse towards improving the land governance space and attaining “The Africa We Want” as envisioned in the AU Agenda 2063.

She further observed that the ALPC recognizes the potential role of arts, culture, and heritage in catalysing the socioeconomic development and integration of the African continent. Hence, the proposed theme draws inspiration from the AU Agenda 2063 as a shared strategic framework and blueprint for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

“The year of arts, culture and heritage happens at a time when AU Member States are grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which imposes heavy human, financial and economic costs to the land governance space in Africa,” said Ms Kagwanja.

The overall objective of the Conference is to deepen commitment and strengthen capacity for land policy development, implementation and monitoring in Africa through improved access to knowledge and information in support of evidence-based land policymaking.

The CLPA conference is expected to improve knowledge in support of evidence-based land policy development, implementation and monitoring in Africa; enhanced and deepened consensus amongst African policymakers and stakeholders on promising avenues for addressing land governance challenges; improved networking, partnerships and resources for land governance and land policy in Africa; better appreciation of the role of land for safeguarding Africa’s art, culture, and heritage on livelihood particularly for marginalised groups.

Held every two years, the conference draws participants from government, academia, research, traditional authorities and other non-state actors, private sector and development partners to disseminate and exchange knowledge to promoting dialogue, networking, advocacy and partnerships in support of implementation of the AU agenda on land. Central to this agenda is evidence-based land policy development, review, implementation and monitoring.

About ALPC

ALPC was launched in 2017 as a successor to the Land Policy Initiative (LPI) established in 2006. Key achievements of the LPI include the development of the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa (F&G), prepared to provide guidance on the development and implementation of sound national land policies and the Guiding Principles on Large- scale Land based Investments (GPs) availed to AU member states in support of the negotiation of fairer and more sustainable land investments.

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org

For more information on the conference, click here : https://www.uneca.org/stories/rwanda-to-host-the-2021-conference-on-land-policy-in-africa