Chapter 1:
Legal Framework and Administration of Land Policy in Zambia
by
Michael Roth, A.M. Khan, and M.C. Zulu'
I. Introduction
A. Issues
The current system of land legislation, based on antiquated English law, is badly in need of
modernization. Private landownership is effectively repressed if not prohibited by Zambia's current
legal framework, and land cannot legally have value.' Lack of private ownership and a land market
ostensibly constrains the development of formal credit and real estate markets, while delays and costs
in processing leasehold issuances and property transfers purportedly constrain land markets and inhibit
economic growth. The system responsible for officially delivering titles and managing state lands is
severely constrained by limited surveying capacity and the weight of thousands of applications, many
of which have been pending for years. Market reforms are increasing the profitability of agriculture
and the demand for agricultural holdings at the same time that improvements in wealth and population
pressures are increasing the demand for residential property. The historical, political, and economic
factors that have led to a highly urbanized Zambian population and emphasis on mining are beginning
to wane in favor of peri-urban and rural settlement. Zambia has a highly urbanized population; yet,
it has, arguably, an abundant supply of arable land that, for complex historical reasons, remains
uncultivated. However, institutional constraints to agricultural expansion are manifest. Urban dwellers,
whose links to ancestral lands have eroded with time, reportedly experience difficulties acquiring
sufficient land through customary authorities and/or do not want to depend on their control. Many turn
to the Ministry of Lands (MOL) for an allocation and for land sizes in excess of those provided by
traditional authorities; yet, considerable delays are caused by current registration bottlenecks and
problems with land identification.
Associated with the above agrarian expansion and land tenure constraints are issues that have
implications for economic growth and equity. Are land rights adequate to encourage investment in
buildings and other fixed land improvements? Are land markets overly constraining land access,
particularly for lower-income families in the residential real estate market and smallholders in the
agricultural land market? Is the growth in demand for land speculative or productive? Are the
landholders residing on the land or are they absentee? Are legal provisions or transfer fees overly
constraining the transfer of land among existing landholders or to potential market entrants? What
mechanisms are appropriate for facilitating the emergence of land markets after nearly two decades
of socialism? What policies are needed to create a land market that is conducive to economic growth?
' Michael Roth is associate research scientist with the Land Tenure Center and Department of Agricultural Economics,
University of Wisconsin-Madison. A.M. Khan is chief registrar of Lands-Deeds, and M.C. Zulu is commissioner of lands,
Ministry of Lands, Lusaka.
2 See the section "Tenure on State Lands" (p. 14, below) for counterarguments asserting that land could legally have value
under the Land (Conversion of Titles) Act, 1975, but that the law was incorrectly applied or interpreted in practice.