The Meaning and Categories of Land in Tanzania

PART A

The Meaning of Land
Land has been variously defined by different schools of thought ranging from the religion, geographers, economists.
At this juncture, it is preferable to apply the definition provided by the Land Act No. 4 of 1999, which asserts that;

"Land" includes the surface of the earth and the earth below the surface and all substances other than minerals or petroleum forming part of or below the surface, things naturally growing on the land, buildings and other structures permanently affixed to or under land and land covered by water."
You might have discovered that one of the salient features of the definition above is the exclusion of minerals and petroleum from land.

Why exclude minerals and petroleum?
The government of Tanzania response maintains that minerals and petrol are scarce public resources to benefit all citizens.


SOMA MAKALA HII KWA KISWAHILI







PART B


Categories of Land in Tanzania
The public land in Tanzania, as per Section 4(4) of the Land Act, is divided into the following categories;
a) 
Reserved Land
b) Village Land
c) 
General Land

What is the purpose of this categorisation?
The purpose is to facilitate management of land under the Land Act No. 4 of 1999 and all other laws applicable to land.
The categories of land are explained below;


a) Reserved Land
Reserved Land includes statutorily protected or designated land, or the land set aside for special purposes. This land includes; national parks; land reserved for public utilities; forest reserves; water reserves; road reserves; games parks; land reserved as public open spaces; wildlife reserves; and lands which, if developed, would pose a hazard to the environment, for example riverbanks. Reserved Land accounts for 28 percent of all land in the Tanzania.
This category of land is under the administration of the respective authorities for specific land, with the cooperation from the Ministry of Lands.

b) Village Land
Village land includes registered village land, land demarcated and agreed to as Village land by relevant Village Councils, and land (other than reserved land) that villages have been occupying and using as village land for 12 or more years prior to enactment of the Village Land Act under customary law. The Village Land constitutes 70 percent of all public land in Tanzania.
This category of land is under the administration and management of the Village Council, the Village Land Council, the Village Assembly, the District Council, and the Commissioner for Lands.

c) General Land
The Land Act defines General Land as all public land which is not reserved land or village land and it includes unoccupied or unused village land. General land includes woodlands, rangelands and urban and peri-urban areas (such as legally designated municipalities) that are not reserved for public use.
General Land, as per the Village Land Act, refers to all public land which is not reserved land or village land. This definition does not state general land as including “all unoccupied or unused village land.”
This creates uncertainty and room for interpretation, posing a threat to village land. 
General Land is under the administration of the Commissioner for Lands.

Conclusion
General land and Reserved land are governed by the Land Act of 1999, whereas Village land is governed by the Village Land Act of 1999.

There is a need to harmonise the definition of “General land” in Tanzania’s Land Act and Village Land Act in order to remove the existing contradiction.

It is possible to transfer one category of land into another. The possibilities as provided by the law are;
i) Transfer of village land to general or reserved land.
ii) Transfer of general or reserved land to village land.



Thank You and Welcome!
The Aliland Team




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