Land issues, a major worry in Cameroon - EU Official

The Programme Head of the European Union sponsored Civil Society Support Programme, PASC, Bertin Lukanda, has observed that one of the major problems besetting Cameroon today is the governance of land.

He said the issue of land management and its natural resources became a great concern since 2011, reason why PASC decided to fund a study on “access to information and agro-industrial land concessions in Cameroon.”

Lukanda was speaking in Yaounde on December 8, at the start of a two-day validation workshop on the said study conducted by the Network for the Fight Against Hunger, RELUFA.

Lukanda revealed that PASC has sponsored 14 actions carried out by Cameroonian Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, in various domains.

“In doing this, our goal is to strengthen the CSOs and enhance the role they could play in the social and economic development of the country. Land issues constitute a major worry to PASC as well and we are working to see how the 14 actions could liaise and become complementary to each other,” he stated.

He hoped the initiative will not end with discussions on the findings, but that the stakeholders would move on and advocate for a clear cut tool on the access to information on land issues by making concrete suggestions to Government.

“Local communities need to be informed on the procedures for the attribution of land to agro-industrial institutions seeking large portions of land for investments,” Lukanda held.

Speaking earlier, the Coordinator of RELUFA, Jaff Bamenjo, noted that the massive turnout of stakeholders at the event was a testimony of the interest surrounding land issues in Cameroon. He said RELUFA has, as mission, to combat systemic problems leading to poverty; economic, social and environmental injustices in Cameroon.

“The local people need to be informed on and integrated from the onset in all the procedures leading to the attribution of land and the management of its natural resources because their livelihoods depend on it. So, we are here to discuss on the legal and institutional framework bringing out the shortcomings and making proposals for the text to be strengthened,” Bamenjo stated.

One of the participants, His Majesty Bruno Mvondo, remarked that the problem of land governance in Cameroon is an acute one that must urgently be addressed. He said as traditional rulers and custodians of cultures, they want to play a preponderant role in issues of land and natural resource management.

Meanwhile, going by the diagnosis of the study conducted by Pierre Etienne Kenfack, a jurist and lecturer at the University of Yaounde II, there has been a rising quest for land in developing countries including Cameroon.

He mentioned a report published in 2011 by experts of the Committee on World Food Security which revealed that 50 to 80 million hectares of land in developing countries have been subject of negotiation with international investors who are in search of large parcels of land. He said such an increase in demand is the root cause of the varied opinions building around land.

Acknowledging that the presence of investors is appreciable because it promotes agricultural and industrial development, creates jobs, develop infrastructure and creates riches in developing countries, Kenfack said the quest to massively grab land is also detested for various reasons.

He said it is a threat to food security, employment and the environment considering that such investments lead to monopolising the land and the resources.

According to him, a country is supposed to possess three tools that would enable the public to have direct access to information on issues of land. He talked of a land policy document which gives orientations on procedures leading to transfer of land in the country as one of them.