ABSTRACT
In 1998, the late Professor Okoth-Ogendo, a distinguished authority on land policy and land law in Africa, presented a paper at an international conference on land reform at the University of Cape Town (Okoth-Ogendo 1998).1 He described the unprecedented attention given to land policy in eastern and southern Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. With few exceptions, national governments had been involved one way or another in the evaluation or re-evaluation of their land policies. In his address, he described the drivers of land policy processes and the nature of engagement with land issues. However, he reserved judgment on outcomes because results of land policy development processes had yet to emerge. In the years since Okoth-Ogendo’s speech, land tenure policy and related legislative
reform have progressed in several countries, particularly in those nations where efforts have been made to integrate customary and statutory land administration into a national legal system, as well as in nations that have moved to decentralise authority over land administration as a way of strengthening the tenure security of poor rural communities. However, despite promulgating good laws, governments have in many circumstances subsequently amended or implemented them in such a way as to undermine their worthy aims. In the poorer countries in the region, tension between democratic and traditional forces continues to frustrate the development of policies and laws which would improve the administration of customary land, which is most urgently required in rapidly expanding peri-urban areas. This chapter takes up where Okoth-Ogendo left off, assessing progress in
SADC countries by reference to policy drivers and processes, analysing the long-term outcomes and impacts, and highlighting challenges to be overcome.
