East African Community (EAC) partner states should find a solution to issues of Foreign Direct Investment and land use, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) concluded on Tuesday.

Sitting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the members adopted a report by the committee on agriculture, tourism and natural resources about investment in agriculture.

The report followed a recommendation by  a continental parliamentary meeting in Rwanda earlier this year, which sought to ensure that East Africans can equally benefit from agricultural Foreign Direct Investments, just like the investors.

"While land is not on the agenda of the EAC integration, it is central to Foreign Direct Investments; the Committee urges EAC partner states to find a common solution on issues of FDI and land use,” the report reads in part. 

The committee cites concerns including gaps in knowledge and access to information on land use, a need to create a balance between long-term development goals and short-term needs in agriculture and adoption of best practices and inclusive business models.

The legislators, among others, want partnerships with key African institutions, drafting legislation on large scale land investments and monitoring and evaluation of investment projects.  

They highlight the importance of developing a model investment contract by reviewing existing contracts.

"EALA thus recommends that partner states implement legally binding and enforceable obligations on investors to ensure investment contributes to the well-being of the society,” the report adds.  

The legislators also want EAC citizens fully consulted before investment decisions are made.

During Tuesday’s debate, MP Dan Kidega (Uganda) said, "We cannot avoid talking about land, however, sensitive it is and I am disappointed with the clauses of the Common Market Protocol that bracket land as a national issue.” 

While calling for the harmonisation of land tenure systems, the MP said it was time to have a regional framework to address desertification and related challenges.

MP Abubakar Zein (Kenya) noted that land is paramount and lauded the Assembly for engaging in pan-African wide consultations.  

"It is our responsibility to develop policies that enable proper utilisation of resources,” he said.

MP Adam Kimbisa (Tanzania) said colonialists disorganised the land tenure system, turning Africans into squatters. 

He said it was time to regulate FDIs, noting that many factors had led to land grabbing in the region and the continent. 

"We must harmonise laws to enable citizens and small holder farmers to benefit from their land,” Kimbisa said. 

MP Emerence Bucumi (Burundi) urged the continent to adhere to the Maputo Declaration which, among others, calls on partner states to allocate at least 10% of their annual budgets to agriculture.