14
Another important part of the Land Law Regulations relates to land held during the
colonial period. The law states that any land held (by lease, freehold, or other means) prior
to 25 June 1975 (independence), which was not nationalized, confiscated, declared vacant,
or "intervened" by the state, may be "validated. " 32 In other words, rights to those holdings
may be reactivated. This applied to land held by either nationals or nonnationals. The law
stipulates that individuals had three years from 9 September 1987 in which to reactivate their
titles. This was an extraordinary principle, for it not only opened the door for returning
colonial interests to reclaim assets—whether acquired and exploited legally or extralegally-
but also generated enormous confusion over ownership rights for much of the most valuable
land in the country. 33 As discussed below, this has complicated land access for indigenous
Mozambicans, including reintegrating displaced populations. It has also inhibited tenure
security, and thus investment, for all producers. It has been suggested by officials in
Mozambique that although this "window of opportunity" has expired, former colonial land
and property holders are still returning to reclaim assets under this provision.
As noted above, other laws, decrees, and ministerial diplomas have been enacted or
issued since the Land Law Regulations of 1987. These laws have had minimal effects on the
tenure system and land administration.' Laws passed in 1991 and 1992 largely address the
alienation (or privatization) and distribution of property held by the state sector. 35 Although
these laws, discussed more fully elsewhere, refer to nonlanded property, they have been used
(unofficially) by some ministries and provincial governments as the basis for privatizing and
alienating land within their jurisdictions or spheres of influence. 36 These laws could be used
as the foundation or precedent for the creation of a new, more privatized, land-tenure system
in the future.
2. FORMAL LAND ADMINISTRATION
The process for acquisition of rural land, for either commercial or smallholder farmers,
suffers because the law is unclear about what constitutes occupation. The procedure also
suffers from confusion over the categories of "family sector" and "private sector" and from
the ad hoc application of the law. 37 In general, commercial (private sector) interests exploit
the formal legal system, while smallholder (family sector) farmers rely on the customary
systems of land tenure to gain access to land and secure their rights. Each category exploits
the weaknesses of the other.
According to district and provincial officials interviewed, smallholders who are in need
of land should communicate with the local customary officials and other landowning families
32. See ART. 79 of the Land Law Regulations.
33. See Bruce (1989, 1990).
34. It remains to be seen what the impacts will be of the new Decentralization of Municipalities Law (1994).
35. See Laws 3/91, 5/91, 13/91, 14/91, 15/91, 17/91, 27/91, 28/91, 30/91, 31/91, and 6/92.
36. See Myers, West, and Eliseu (1993); and Garvey (1994).
37. Myers, West, and Eliseu (1993); Garvey (1994); Martins (1994); Weiss and Myers (1994); and Carrilho
et al. (1990).