Expedite mass Sensitisation on land rights

Three million land title deeds remain unclaimed at the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority.The Authority says that most land owners claim that only government can guarantee safe custody of the valuable documents. This is a vote of confidence in government. It shows that people have more trust in government to keep their valuable assets. However it is important for the people to be enlightened on how best to use their land titles instead of leaving them in custody of the Lands office.This could partly be addressed by mass sensitisation on land rights from the grassroots to the national level. When government embarked on the land policy reforms in 2009, the exercise aimed at stimulating growth through improved land tenure rights. And this objective will be realized when land owners realize that these land title deeds are an asset to the owners and can be used as security to get loans to start up income generating activities. Land is the biggest capital that most people in rural areas can use to alleviate themselves from poverty.It is encouraging that the Authority intends to increase awareness among Rwandans on the importance of being the primary custodians of their land title deeds and to use them in the best way possible to uplift their standards of living. The awareness is important because for most rural people their only security is usually land. The Authority should consider using local leaders in this sensitisation programme. There is a growing consensus among the development experts that ensuring access to land and security of land tenure have potential to spur improved socio-economic development.

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Expedite mass Sensitisation on land rights