TIC allays fears of land scarcity

BabuK · 2012-11-12T17:36:28+00:00

Tanzania has enough land for investment and housing purposes, Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has said, allaying fears that the countrys land was up for grabs by multinational investors. Acting TIC executive director Raymond Mbilinyi said in Dar es Salaam at the weekend that so far it was only 52 investors who hold valid title deeds that give them legal powers to own land for investment, contrary to widely-held and unfounded claims that investors were currently scrambling to grab Tanzanias land. We need Tanzanians to understand these things so they may get rid of deeply-held but unfounded assertions that investors are out to grab Tanzanias land, he told a TIC working group that discussed the need for Tanzania to have a land bank for investment purposes, as well as fast-tracking issuance of title deeds. He said currently it was only TIC which was legally allowed to give land to foreign investors, noting that the amount of land so far dished out to investors was 'peanuts.' If there is any foreign investor who has acquired land without TICs approval, then that land has not been legally acquired and I urge Tanzanians to report such incidents to the relevant authorities. The law is very clear on that aspect - any foreign investor has to go through TIC to be given land for investment, he said. He called on the government to simplify the process required for one to acquire a title deed to own land for investment. Earlier, a member of the working group from the Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development ministry, Calister Lekule, said the ministry was in total support for fast-tracking the issuance of title deeds. Speaking on behalf of the acting Commissioner for Lands, Lekule said the ministry would participate actively in the process to survey and issue title deeds for the investors land bank. Its time we worked closely with TIC, municipal councils and individuals who hold land that is suitable for investment so that whenever investors come, we already have the land to give them. We have to go abreast with the pace of globalisation, lest we be left out in the hunt for investors, she said. According to TICs manager for Lands Department Desderius Narwango, 2010 records show that some 1,996,067.003 hectares have been surveyed and approved as fit for investment purposes. In addition, some 1,286,687.359 hectares need to be surveyed and compensated for. The meeting, which was organised by TIC, was attended by officials from the Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development ministry and from the ministry of State in the Prime Ministers Office responsible for Regional Administration and Local Government. SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Thread starter BabuK
Start date Nov 12, 2012

BabuK

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TIC allays fears of land scarcity

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