The reform of land registration systems is an important next step in the advancement of the modern world. Around the world, developing countries have notoriously inefficient and expensive land administration systems (Groppo, P., 1999). Ultimately, this indirectly results in a lot of the issues that these countries face. Land disputes in these jurisdictions are extremely common, simply because no one knows who owns what. This causes investments to be driven away as there’s uncertainty that a person’s land can be stripped from them due to poor registration. Agriculture in these countries also suffer, as farmer’s land can be taken away due to weak boundaries. For many people, their land is their only asset, which leaves them completely stranded if it were to be distributed to someone else. Governments also lose millions of dollars due to having a crippling land registration system. If the government can’t account for their land then this leaves them susceptible to tax evasion, crown lands being land grabbed, and inefficiency in the time it takes to purchase and sell land.
Countries are starting to notice though, which has greatly improved economies and the quality of life. In 2005, Macedonia only had one-third of apartments registered (The World Bank, 2017). Due to changes to property laws and regulations, in 2015 surveying of land went up from 44% to 99% and the time it took to register a property sale or mortgage went from months to a single day (The World Bank, 2017). This directly resulted in the value of mortgages rising from EUR 450 million to EUR 3.4 billion due to an increase in private investments (The World Bank, 2017). Another country that is showing promise is Rwanda. Rwanda was subject to mass genocide in the past and when the genocide ended, returning families came home to find that their land rights were lost due to a poor registration system. Recently, Rwanda significantly reformed their land registration system which resulted in the country registering 100% of the land at a cost of just $7 dollars per plot (Ggoga, T., 2019). Since this achievement, the government land revenues of Rwanda increased fivefold between 2011 to 2013 and Rwanda’s been ranked number two in the world for ease of property registration by the World Bank (Ggoga, T., 2019).
It may seem unlikely, but in developing countries land reform is generally the highest local government revenue earner. The extra generated profit from land reform could potentially help as a starting point for lots of governments that are drowning in dept. Once a stabilized system is in place, it’s been proven that it attracts valuable investments to a country and it also ensures that all peoples right to land is properly enforced. These added investments and revenue from an efficient registry system can further be invested to tackle other problematic areas in a country. Electricity, clean water, and even paved road networks could easily be attained with this extra influx of government revenues. It may not be the most obvious solution, but the reform of land registration could be the answer to ending third world poverty.
References:
Ggoga, T. (2019, May). Land reforms can heal old wounds and bring economic benefits. The Africa Report. Retrieved from https://www.theafricareport.com/11324/land-reforms-can-heal-old-wounds-and-bring-economic-benefits/
The World Bank (2017, March). Why Secure Land Rights Matter. The World Bank. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/03/24/why-secure-land-rights-matter
Giovarelli, R. (2001, October). Land Reform in Eastern Europe. FAO. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/AD878E/AD878E07.htm
Groppo, P. (1999). Land reform: land settlement and cooperatives. FAO. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/x3720t/x3720t04.htm
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