Rwanda is a relatively small and poor country in East Africa that recently experienced a mass genocide in 1994. An estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 people were killed, which was roughly one tenth of a population at the time. After the genocide, returning refugees started to strain the existing land tenure system, and therefore the government decided to reform the land registration system in order to avoid new conflict and reduce poverty (Schaefer, L., 2017). Before 2004, 90% of the countries land was held under customary law that was unregistered (Khama, S., 2016).
Since Rwanda’s land registration system reform, 100% of the land has been registered at a cost of just 7 dollars per parcel (Ggoga, T., 2019). Rwanda has also been ranked at number 2 in the world for ease of property registration (2019). Considering Rwanda is a third world country that is recovering from a genocide, how did Rwanda manage to create one of the most successful land registration systems in the world in less than a decade?
Firstly, Rwanda ended customary tenure practises. By surveying and registering all land and giving landowners legal certificates and the concrete rights to their land, they’ve eliminated the majority of confusion that comes with customary tenure. Before the reformed land registration system, 80% of court cases in Rwanda involved land disputes (Ggoga, T., 2019). Now that all land is under a common rule of law, landowners’ boundaries are solidified, which makes land disputes harder to fight in a court of law. This has also helped give stable land rights to woman within the country. After the genocide, many women were unable to claim rights to property under customary laws after their husbands and fathers were killed. Since the reform, more woman have land registered in their name then men, as 2.1 million parcels list a woman as the sole owner and only 1.2 million list a man (s2019).
Another factor that helped to cheaply survey all the land in Rwanda was the steps taken in training government officials and citizens. In order to survey the land, Rwanda was in need of trained surveyors. Before the reform, Rwanda took two years to train surveyors in all communities around the country (Khama, S., 2016). Along with the training of surveyors, 85 land officers were trained in land administration, 120 officials trained in land administration information systems, and 416 local officials given an introduction to land management in Rwanda (Sagashya, D., 2014). By investing knowledge into their communities, Rwanda created valuable sustainable assets that have and will continue to benefit their land administration system for years to come.
Rwanda has also taken steps to modernize and prepare for the future of their registration system. They’ve created an electronic land registry system that’s connected to the banks mortgage registration system and soon the construction permitting system (Sagashya, D., 2014). Their also in developing a mobile app that allows people to check owner information and the size of parcels (Sagashya, D., 2014). Lastly, Rwanda has set up a modern geodetic reference network that has 8 active stations and have made land use plans for future infrastructure in all districts in the country (Sagashya, D., 2014).
All of the above has resulted in a strong registration system that is still expanding and evolving. Rwanda is proof that land registration reform is possible under any circumstances, regardless of a country’s wealth and privilege.
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/
Schaefer, L. (2017, December). Land Reform in Rwanda. Centre for Public Impact. Retrieved from https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/case-study/land-reform-rwanda/
Khama, S. (2016). Land tenure regularization in Rwanda: Good practices in land reform. African Natural Resources Center. Retrieved from https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/anrc/AfDB_RwandaLandReform_FA.pdf
Sagashya, D. (2014, November). Rwanda Country Report. Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development. Retrieved from https://ggim.un.org/country-reports/documents/Rwanda-2015-country-report.pdf
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