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Wise words

Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. --Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of The United Nations

Workshop on The Reflection On “The 1974 Land Ordinance” Held AT Fakoship plaza On 7th June 2012.

posted 25th June, 2012

Land is the main means of production and source of income for the majority of the population in the world and for this
reason the government of Cameroon has recognized the need to rationalize the
land tenure system. Cameroon’s land legislation since 1974 has largely eroded
customary rights over land and imposed the State as the owner of all
unexploited lands and forest. According to the law on land tenure rights,
ownership of land can only be claimed by possession of a land title or
certificate. Most local people do not even know the importance of a land title
let alone the procedure to obtain it. Paradoxically, the rich and elite class as well as cooperated bodies buy
up large expansions of land from the local poor establish land titles and push
them out. Tension has also been generated because of ignorance of the legal steps
to be followed by rural peasants who have been evicted from lands on which they
claim certain rights. Examples of communities that have been deprived of their
land due to the creation of large capitalist plantations are found in the South
West, Littoral and South Regions of the Country like the Coastal area of rich
volcanic soils. For the case of Forest Exploitation, the Communities are found
in the East and South Regions.

The 1974 Land Tenure Ordinance as announced by
the Head of State in Ebolowa in January 2011 is an opportunity to articulate
the interest of communities especially women and vulnerable groups with regards
to a secured land tenure that guarantees their Right to Food and a sustainable
livelihood. For this reason, on the 7th of June 2012, Nkong Hill Top organized a workshop at FakoShip Plaza in Buea to
reflect on the ordinance, which is bringing out some drawbacks in the ordinance
and looking at where modifications should be made to favour farmers,
women, marginalized groups and local communities.