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economics of land administration, focusing efforts on activities that can be
characterized as high-return in terms of development or revenue.
9. Using these criteria, the highest priority should be getting land and titles into the hands of
cultivators within the State Land sector.
This should be the priority because (a) there are large amounts of good arable land
there, (b) its proximity to the rail lines and other facilities will increase the
probabilities of profitable operations there, (c) its higher value can produce more
revenue, and (d) it is relatively accessible for survey by the ministry.
10. Within the State Land, first priority should be given to reallocation of the land of State Farms and
parastatal holdings, second to resettlement schemes, and third to private holdings. If a land
identification committee or similar body is created to identify land for investors, it should for the first
several years focus its attention on the State Lands and these particular areas.
The State Farms and parastatal holdings will decline, and prompt action will be
needed to ensure a sound scheme for distribution, before the land can be occupied by
squatters. A land identification committee could also work out a repossession strategy
and targets based on the World Bank-funded study of land utilization in the State
Lands, initiate the reviews suggested in recommendation 32 below, recommend
retakings for failure to pay ground rents, and recommend penalties for late payment.
11. In terms of resolving titling difficulties for land already allocated, the resettlement sector deserves
special attention. A crash program for dealing with this sector should be considered and put forward
for donor funding.
There appears to have been especially serious confusion in the titling process in this
sector, in part as a result of inadequate information. Few settlers have received leases.
Because these holdings are clustered geographically, the titling situation could be
sorted out relatively expeditiously through a field operation, with scheme officials
present to provide planning consent and Lands and Survey officials on the ground
empowered to certify plans and sign leases. A field adjudication procedure to
determine entitlements would be necessary because of the confusion which has
developed in some settlement schemes through departure and replacement of settlers.
12. For selected areas of considerable commercial development in Reserve and Trust Lands, the
ministry should seek to develop a procedure for systematic titling of all holdings, along the lines of
that incorporated in the repealed Lands (Adjudication of Titles) Act, 1962.
The priority need for titling in the Reserve/Trust Lands is not so much to make land
available to outsiders, since more accessible land is available in the State Lands, but
to develop an approach in areas where commercialization justifies title registration.
Yet, smallholders are being disadvantaged in obtaining title. These areas are likely to
be near existing State Lands. Work under such a system should initially be on a pilot
basis.