ABSTRACT
With the change in the political system, which occurred in 1989/1990, there arose the possibility of a significant change concerning the use and ownership of land, leading to a major programme of land privatisation. Many national and international institutions were convinced that the role of private ownership was one of the most important factors in the growth of the economy. For the transfer of land from the state to the private sector to be accomplished successfully, a reliable infrastructure for the registration of ownership had to be established (van Hemert, 1993). The principle considerations related to the land policies developed during this period are:
1. acknowledgement by the government that the private land/real estate market is an essential requirement for the working and development of the economy;
2. within a reasonable period, legislation and executive mechanisms for the working of the land/real estate market should be working reasonably well across the whole country;
3. the organisations involved in land registration should, where possible have a level of private enterprise;
4. the costs of the land registration process should be funded by the users and, in general, the organisation should be self-financing.
