By Walter Wilson Nana
Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, Forestry Experts and professionals in the legal department are calling for the revision of the 1974 Land Law Ordinance in Cameroon.
At a recent “Reflection Workshop On The 1974 Land Law Ordinance – Time For Reforms,” held at the Board Room of Fakoship Plaza, Buea, participants were unanimous that the 1974 land law is repugnant and not addressing the issues of today.
According Vincent Anu, workshop convenor and Coordinator of the Buea-based CSO, Nkong Hill Top, it is urgent to look into the challenges of constantly feeding more Cameroonians in a piece of land that is not expanding and to protect the future generation from land grabbers, inequitable use of land and irresponsible land exploitation. “We must not wait on government for this to happen. Land should not become a source of conflict. It should continue to be a source of life, not only for today’s generation but for posterity too,” he noted.
Anu said the 1974 Land Law Ordinance has areas of contradiction and overlapping, especially the worry that the right of occupancy of a piece of land, does not necessarily make you the owner of the land. “Minority groups are also being threatened with the coming of urbanisation; they are gradually being pushed away from their fertile land and bought out of existence. These are concerns, potential areas of conflicts and explosions, which should be checked now,” he mentioned.
On a presentation “The 1974 Land Ordinances: Time For Change – A Civil Society Reflection,” Pius Mbah Mbolle of the Buea Local Government Training Centre, CEFAM, said about forty years after the 1974 Land Ordinances, the situation on the field does not reflect the spirit of the law as it was intended. “The law does not fit with the present context. It is necessary for it to be revisited,” he added.
Mbah Mbolle said the Cameroon land tenure system is that of registration of land. He mentioned that there are three main stakeholders in land management in Cameroon. These include; the government of Cameroon through the Ministry of Land Tenure, the private actors, which involve the traditional rulers and civil society organisations and the Land Consultative Board, which is lodged in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation.
Mbah Mbolle decried the absence of intrinsic inheritance rights, the contradictions in the procedures of transfer and ownership of land and gender bias on access to land in the 1974 Land Law Ordinance.
Mor-Achankep Bakia of the Southwest Regional Delegation of Forestry & Wildlife on a paper “Current Land Use Situation At Macro Scale In The Southwest Region – The Case Of Korup – Ndongere & Mt. Cameroon Technical Operation Unit,” said the aforementioned areas are experiencing rapid industrial activities and heavy land use.
Bakia said the Southwest Region is overcrowded with land use activities carried out by the Ministry of Forestry & Wildlife, while highlighting that there is need to reconcile the increasing population and the land that is stagnant.
He said land preservation and conservation are strategies geared towards human safety and that of posterity.
Other participants at the workshop were of the opinion that it is important to reconcile the present needs for land with that of the future, while the revision of the forestry laws, which are ongoing, should be encouraged.
