Peri-urban areas in Africa are usually dynamic with respect to land tenure. Statutory, informal and customary tenure systems often co-exist and interfere with each other. This disclosure of legal pluralism often leads to lower levels of tenure security, especially for people with low incomes. Pro-poor land administration tools have been designed to cater for the poor. The question arises whether these tools have the desired impact. This question is answered by confronting the existing tenure regimes with the pro-poor land administration tools.
A case-study has been carried out in Chazanga, a neighborhood in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. A qualitative approach has been applied to evaluate the ways in which people access land and how they perceive security of tenure with reference to land administration. Their perceptions are confronted with the legal and institutional framework.
In terms of tenure, Chazanga turned out to be highly dynamic. The area is contested to be public land under control of Lusaka City Council (LCC) and customary land under the Traditional Authority. Most lands are accessed through a variety of informal and customary ways. Besides that, some lands are registered under the Lands Act. LCC has started a legalization exercise, applying the Housing (Statutory and Improvement Areas) Act (HSIA) of 1975. Plots will be surveyed and occupancy licenses issued upon payment of a monthly ground rent. People who are aware about the legalization in general did favor the exercise, although some people feared that LCC will grab the land from them.
Regularization will clarify the legal situation concerning land in Chazanga and increase the perceived levels of tenure security. However, the inhabitants will experience less freedom towards their land. Additionally, the legal security as provided through the occupancy license is rather weak. Furthermore, it will be argued that the HSIA is not specifically pro-poor. On the other hand, it offers a framework for the implementation of a simple land administration system to regularize unplanned settlements in Zambia.