Civil society organizations propose that the time for the debates on the proposed revision of the National Land Policy be extended, to allow the process to encompass all Mozambicans, especially women and youth, considered to be the main beneficiaries.
The position of the civil society was presented yesterday in Maputo, in a press conference, in which these entities also demand the suspension of the channeling of the preliminary draft of the National Land Policy to the Council of Ministers.
The proposed revision was launched by the Head of State, Filipe Nyusi, at the 9th ordinary session of the Consultation Forum on Land in 2017. The idea is to review the National Land Policy of 1995, the Land Law of 1997, and its entire regulatory framework.
These organizations understand that the revision of the legal framework about land in Mozambique, although necessary, given that it has been in effect for more than 20 years, requires a rationale of the aspects that need to be revised and what is intended to be changed, whether at the policy level of the law or the mechanisms of its implementation.
The position is held by a number of organizations, such as: Centro Terra Viva, Observatório do Meio Rural, Justiça Ambiental, Sekelekani, Associação Moçambicana de Desenvolvimento Rural, CESC, Fórum Mulher, Livaningo, Promura, Txeka, Alternactiva, ADECRU, Observatório das Mulheres, and ASCUT.
Speaking at the press conference, Abel Sainda, of the Mozambican Association for Rural Development (AMDER), said that civil society welcomed the announcement by the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, to listen to all Mozambicans in the review process of the National Land Policy.
However, we are concerned about the process of consultation and elaboration of the diagnosis and the preliminary draft circulated by the Review Commission of the National Land Policy (CRPNT)," said Abel Sainda.
The concern, he said, stems from the fact that the Land Consultation Forum, created in 2017 to lead this process, has not met any more, because the consultation carried out did not follow the technical scientific rigor required in processes of this nature, as well as the lack of involvement of the various social groups, specifically women, young people, and the rural population.
He added that the consultation excludes large segments of society from the review process resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, military insecurity in the northern part of Cabo Delgado, and climatic phenomena in the center and north of the country.
"The diagnosis produced was not validated to ensure that it reflects the concerns and priorities of Mozambicans, and the deadlines are quite short and unrealistic, hence the question why prevent people from contributing due to the very short periods," said the social activist.
He also stated that many civil society organizations were forced to comment on the draft of the National Land Policy "on the fly" and "without a clear explanation of its content.
He regretted the fact that the proposal does not bring any line that establishes that investment must be ensured for women and rural communities, which are the majority of Mozambicans, as well as for not presenting mechanisms that allow communities to obtain benefits resulting from the land and the resources therein.
"This is what justifies our challenge to this diagnosis and to propose the holding of massive meetings in localities, districts, communities and various social groups to collect comments and suggestions for improvement of the proposal, should it be decided that the revision of the National Land Policy should go forward, said Abel Sainda.