Land law for amendment

KIGALI - The 2005 Land Law is set for some amendments following recommendations from various stakeholders during a meeting on a land reform strategy early this week. The reform strategy was presented on Thursday, October 4 by State Minister for Lands and Environment Patricia Hajabakiga during a two-day workshop at Hotel Mille Collines, Kigali. Most of the amendments to be made are anticipated in the registration process where the reform strategy recommends that application for a land title be certified first by Cell Land Committee. Thereafter, it would be submitted to the deputy registrars at provincial level and copied to both the district land office and the sector administration. The strategy is expected to change the previous one where the Lands minister carried out all registration procedures. Among the subjects discussed by the stakeholders were new policies on land management organisations, regulating tenure system and legal framework. The amendment will give land owners more rights over their holdings including getting fair compensation in case of expropriations. This is a major recommendation of new study on land tenure reform conducted in the districts of Gasabo, Musanze and Karongi. Regulation of the land ownership has been the subject of debate in the country since 2005 when parliament passed a new land law. Ends