CAVENDISH UNIVERSITY – ZAMBIA

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF AND FEEDBACK FORM

STUDENT No. 077-936

LECTURER: Mr Mundia Pumolo

MODULE: Common law & Politics

MODULE CODE: CUZL111
ASSIGNMENT NUMBER: 2
DATE HANDED OUT:
DATE DUE IN:

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS
1. This form must be attached to the front of your assignment.
 2. The assignment must be handed in without fail by submission date (see assessment
schedule for your course)
3. Ensure that submission date is date stamped by the reception stuff when you hand it in.
4. Late submission will not be entertained unless with prior agreement with the tutor
5. All assessable assignments must be word processed.
This assignment is intended to assess the student’s knowledge in all of the following areas.
However, greater emphasis should be given to those item marked with a

(Tutor: - please tick as applicable)

SL ASSESSMENT SKILLS Please Tick
No
1 Good and adequate interpretation of the question

2 Knowledge and application of the relevant theories

3 Use of relevant and practical examples to back up theories

4 Ability to transfer and relate subject topic to each other

5 Application and use of appropriate models

6 Evidence of library research

7 Knowledge of theories

8 Written business English communication skills

9 Use of visual (graphs) communication

10 Self-assessed ‘time management’

11 Evidence of field research

Tutor’s Marks contribution

(Administrative only)
LECTURER’S FEEDBACK
++

Table Of Contents
 LAND TENURE
Land tenure is the relationship, whether legally or customarily defined, among people, as
individuals or groups, with respect to land. (For convenience, “land” is used here to include other
natural resources such as water and trees.) Land tenure is an institution, i.e., rules invented by
societies to regulate behaviour. Rules of tenure define how property rights to land are to be
allocated within societies. They define how access is granted to rights to use, control, and
transfer land, as well as associated responsibilities and restraints. In simple terms, land tenure
systems determine who can use what resources for how long, and under what conditions.
Land tenure is an important part of social, political and economic structures. It is multi-
dimensional, bringing into play social, technical, economic, institutional, legal and political
aspects that are often ignored but must be taken into account. Land tenure relationships may be
well-defined and enforceable in a formal court of law or through customary structures in a
community. Alternatively, they may be relatively poorly defined with ambiguities open to
exploitation.
Land tenure thus constitutes a web of intersecting interests. These include:
• Overriding interests: when a sovereign power (e.g., a nation or community has the powers to
allocate or reallocate land through expropriation, etc.)
• Overlapping interests: when several parties are allocated different rights to the same parcel of
land (e.g., one party may have lease rights, another may have a right of way, etc.)
• Complementary interests: when different parties share the same interest in the same parcel of
land (e.g., when members of a community share common rights to grazing land, etc.)
• Competing interests: when different parties contest the same interests in the same parcel (e.g.,
when two parties independently claim rights to exclusive use of a parcel of agricultural land.
Land disputes arise from competing claims.)

LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN ZAMBIA

Zambia is a land locked country in southern Africa and land is a subject of widespread interest in
the country due to competing needs for housing, investment, mining, forests and agriculture.
The country has large copper deposits in the Copperbelt and North-western Provinces, making it
the second leading copper producing nation in Africa and contributing approximately 70% of the
country’s exports in 2019.
All land in Zambia is vested in the President as provided for by the Constitution. Zambia has a
dual land tenure system, namely customary and leasehold, with legal provisions in the 1995 Land
Act. According to statistics available at independence, customary tenure covered about 94 per
cent of land in Zambia, while approximately 6 per cent of the land was state land under leasehold
tenure. The law also provides for conversion of customary land to state land. Over the last few
 years, the Government has been engaged in programmes, such as the National Land Audit
Programme, aimed at establishing the current prevailing land situation.
Customary land is administered by the Chiefs using the customary laws and norms applicable to
different jurisdictions and subject to Zambian laws and natural justice. The Urban and Regional
Planning Act, enacted in 2015, provides for development, physical planning and administration
and is applicable in both state and customary land. Rural areas have vast natural resources,
which results in competing interests over land between incoming investors and the rural
communities. The Government recognizes the need for a robust and responsive legal regime to
enhance land rights, stimulate investment and curb some of the excesses and difficulties
experienced in land management.

LEASEHOLD LAND TENURE SYSTEM

Leasehold Land Tenure System is a kind of land ownership for a particular period of time. In
Zambia one can get a lease from an individual, a local authority, an organization or Company, an
institution like Buganda Kingdom or from the Zambian government for a period or in between
under agreed terms and conditions.
The leasehold transactions, being essentially contractual allow parties to define the terms and
conditions of access and usage in such a manner that suits their give-and-take land use needs. A
grant of land would be made by the owner of freehold, customary or Zambia Land Commission
to another person. The grantee of a lease for an agreed period of time is entitled to a certificate of
title.
Leasehold form of land tenure is whereby a property owner grants the right to another party the
exclusive possession of land for a stated time period regularly in exchange for a rental fee. Any
land owner in Zambia whether for freehold or customary tenure may award a lease to another
individual.
In practical terms, most of the land under leasehold was formerly owned by government agencies
and bodies, predominantly the Zambia Land Commission and District Land Boards. These
bodies tend to enforce some development conditions for the subsequent use of the
land. Leasehold tenure is usually granted for a payment of rent, premium, both or for free of
charge. Please note that the renter is not compelled to leave the estate upon lease
Leasing is an arrangement in which the asset's right is transferred to another person without
transferring the ownership. In simple terms, it means giving the asset on hire or rent. The person
who gives the asset is “Lessor,” the person who takes the asset on rent is “Lessee.”
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Leasehold
To clarify, buying estates on lease has its pros and cons. Let’s consider both in detail.
Advantages
 1. The lessee can claim an estate without bearing the actual ownership costs.
2.Above all, it fulfills short-term residentiary requirements.
3.Some leased properties also cover additional facilities like a gym, parking area, swimming
pool, library, etc.
Disadvantages
1.Probable project incompletion or postponement because of inadequate capital for construction.
2.To clarify, the lessee or tenant bears the load of consistently surged ground rent and other
expenses these comprise all the non-operating costs incurred for the supporting business
operations. Such payments like rent, insurance and taxes have no direct connection with the
mainstream business activities.read more.
3.Above all, the tenant receives minimal independence.
4.Leasehold on houses mandates higher deposits as compared to freehold premises.
5. In addition, the lessee does not benefit from an increased land value.

CUSTOMARY TENURE
Customary tenure covers 93% of the Zambian area. The recognition of customary tenure does
not bring about the registration of ownership rights, but only
the protection of use and occupancy rights. Customary land is controlled by the chiefs and their
headmen but act with the consent of their people.
One key aspect of traditional tenure is free access to land by all members of a community. In
customary areas in Zambia individual ownership, concurrent interests, and communal interests
are
recognized. Individual ownership means that the landholder or occupant has more rights and
interests in the land than any other person. The individual owns the land for as long as he wishes.
Concurrent interests occur where persons, other than the landholder, can go onto someone’s land
and use it for their own purposes. Communal interests involve the use of certain tracts of land,
which are not individually owned.
The role of the chief in most of Zambia is as regulator of the acquisition and use of land but
there are important variations in the 73 tribes between the distribution of the “interests of
control”
and “interests of benefit”. Acquisition in land is possible through the following ways: clearing of
virgin bush, as a gift, sale of (improvements on the) land, transfer of land in exchange for goods,
transfer of land in exchange of services and marriage . A stranger to
the area needs the chief’s permission to settle in the area before acquiring a piece of land.
Similarly
a chief can prohibit an individual from cultivating in a grazing area. The President
of Zambia, however, may alienate any land in the customary area if he takes the local customary
law on land tenure into consideration and if he consults the chief and the local authority in the
area
in which the land to be alienated is situated . The President can thus over-rule the decision of the
chief.
Conflicts of interests in land do not have a formal procedure. If a conflict arises over land, it
will generally be resolved by a village chief with the help of a group of elders. If this fails
recourse
is then to the Lands Tribunal however, land disputes between customary
owners are quite rare.
The security of these rights might be based on the state of mind of the chief, or a concrete
fact. The chiefs rely on village heads. Each village has

villages are normally small and the villagers know who has which rights. The customary system
has defects in the security of rights. When the chief dies or changes his opinion,
there is always a possibility that an unwanted person may be evicted. But, as noted before, the
chief rules with the consent of his or her people. Incidentally, the chief provides a letter as proof
of
ownership . A United Nations Economic Survey of Zambia in 1964 observed: “The security of
tenure provided under tribal customary laws is almost equivalent to the security provided under
freehold. Any individual who establishes residence in a village can acquire customary rights over
the land, although nobody can lay a claim
to land over which another individual has established rights. The rights are permanent unless
they
are extinguished by abandonment or death.” Others confirm more recently in similar wording the
existence of secure property rights land in the customary tenure system which allows access to
 formal credit, facilitated by the State . UnFortunately the informal form of security of rights
does not satisfy western companies enough to invest in the land. It seems inevitable that
customary rights will eventually be replaced by statutory control of all private land ties between
the urban population and the chiefs have weakened considerably with time. The colonization and
State nationalization of land have
undermined the chiefs’ role in the customary tenure system. The experiences in Zambia,
however,
do not support the theory that titling brings better care of the land. More prosperous farmers in
customary areas may fence their properties, and even go to the trouble of obtaining title, with the
objective not to restrict their own activities, but to exclude their neighbors’ cattle.
The transformation of customary rights into a leasehold is in Zambia a lengthy and difficult
process, requiring a cadastral survey and approval of both the local authorities and the President.
After transformation it is uncertain whether the leaseholds on customary remain subject to local
customs and traditions. This also seems to be one of the reasons why some tradational rulers are
opposed to lands act, 1995.

CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE SECURITY

The performance of land ownership has been the primary argument in favor of customary tenure.
Tradational tenure prevents commercialization since it is unpredicatable and restricts rural land
markets, according to the world bank. Calls for land tenure reform, which attempts to replace
tradational stable tenure with a more modern one, have been sparked by this. The security of land
tenure is typically associated with land titling and land registration. Promoting individual
security of tenure and a free land market is intended to boost agricutural investment and
productivity, establishing a strong foundation for the nations growth and development.

RFRENCES
GLTN.NET
RESEARCHGATE.NET
FAO.ORG