The name is absent



11

III. AN OVERVIEW OF LAND ACCESS
IN POSTWAR MOZAMBIQUE

People gain access to land in Mozambique either through the formal or statutory system or
through informal or customary systems. In this section we summarize what we have learned
about formal and customary land tenure and the limitations of these systems. We note the
types of rights people are acquiring. We also address the question of land availability or
scarcity and discuss the impact of state-granted land concessions on land access and disputes
in Mozambique. Finally, we illustrate how contradictions between formal and customary
systems of land tenure are leading to land conflicts throughout the country.

A. ACCESS UNDER STATUTORY LAND LAW

1. LAND LAW

The constitution and subsequent legislation enacted in Mozambique after independence
in 1975 were greatly influenced by the experiences and laws of neighboring countries. The
leaders of newly independent Mozambique were particularly motivated by developments in
Tanzania as well as in other Lusophone African countries. Many of Mozambique's policies
with regard to production systems and property rights were modeled after those articulated
in Tanzania; therefore, it is not surprising that Mozambique nationalized land shortly after
independence. 19

The constitution and two subsequent pieces of legislation articulated and defined land law
and the formal land tenure system.
ARTICLE 8 of the Constitution of the People's Republic
of Mozambique (1975) states: "The land and the natural resources located in the soil and
subsoil, in territorial waters and on Mozambique's continental shelf, are owned by the state.
The state shall decide the conditions for their exploitation and use."' The 1975 Constitution
further declares that all land in the country belongs to the people through the state. It is clear
that a central intention of this law was to liberate (i.e., nationalize) land from foreign interests
that had, in many instances, stolen land and resources from the people of Mozambique; in
this respect its goals may be considered laudable. However, a second intention of the law was
to strip "large" landowners of their resources and to give land "back" to the Mozambican
people. It is at this point that the intention of the law becomes problematic. Many middle-
class nationals, both black and white, lost legally acquired resources. As a result, foreign as

19. For a discussion of the early political evolution of FRELIMO, see Isaacman and Isaacman (1983);
Machel (1974, 1975); Mondlane (1969); Munslow (1983); Egero (1990); Saul (1973, 1985); Vail
and White
(1980); and First (1983).

20. See also ART. 35 of the 1975 Constitution.



More intriguing information

1. Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada
2. Reform of the EU Sugar Regime: Impacts on Sugar Production in Ireland
3. The name is absent
4. The problem of anglophone squint
5. Examining the Regional Aspect of Foreign Direct Investment to Developing Countries
6. National curriculum assessment: how to make it better
7. The name is absent
8. Investment and Interest Rate Policy in the Open Economy
9. Moi individuel et moi cosmique Dans la pensee de Romain Rolland
10. Industrial Cores and Peripheries in Brazil
11. Temporary Work in Turbulent Times: The Swedish Experience
12. Learning-by-Exporting? Firm-Level Evidence for UK Manufacturing and Services Sectors
13. Convergence in TFP among Italian Regions - Panel Unit Roots with Heterogeneity and Cross Sectional Dependence
14. The name is absent
15. The name is absent
16. A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON UNDERINVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURAL R&D
17. Corporate Taxation and Multinational Activity
18. The name is absent
19. Evaluating Consumer Usage of Nutritional Labeling: The Influence of Socio-Economic Characteristics
20. Comparative study of hatching rates of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell 1822) eggs on different substrates