DUATS: Land securisation campaign launched in Chimoio, Mozambique

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DUATS: Land securisation campaign launched in Chimoio, Mozambique

8:09 CAT | 10 Aug 2016

The municipal council in the city of Chimoio, in the central Mozambican province of Manica, on Tuesday, launched a campaign to ensure that local people have the correct paperwork for their land property.

The initiative intends to speed up the processing for the assignment of land use titles (DUAT) which will help owners if they wish to take on bank loans, sell land, or in cases of land disputes.

Speaking during a ceremony to launch the campaign, Mayor Raul Conde lamented that most residents live on land without the correct documentation.

The Mayor acknowledged that there have been delays in awarding DUAT certificates due to the large volume of requests. However, he said that the council is working to speed up the process.

Conde stated that the current campaign is aimed at citizens who have lived in their houses for a long time but still had no proof of title. He stressed that the council will be able to accelerate the allocation process due to the introduction of computerisation. He revealed that he wants to see the entire land registry for Chimoio digitised.

Conde also urged residents to take action to stop the current wave of double allocations of land. He stated that “this must involve the direct participation of community leaders, technicians of the municipal council, and the general population”.

Chimoio has 340,000 residents in 33 neighbourhoods covering three administrative posts. Parts of these neighbourhoods are still not urbanised.

In a related development, the provincial directorate of Land, Environment and Rural Development in the southern province of Gaza has revealed that is had digitised 35,000 land use records. The land management information system is being implemented by the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development (MITADER).

The figure was given at a preparatory meeting for the forthcoming Land Consultation Forum.

According to the provincial director of Land, Environment and Rural Development, Juliana Mwito, “we will have more accurate data when we have completed the process, which will allow for easy access to information on land ownership”.

She added that, despite the progress, serious problems persisted with overlapping DUATs, land assigned without observance of proper procedures, and poor performance by public officials assigning the documents.

Source: AIM