BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
Throughout its modern history, questions with regard to land owning system have been leveled as agenda in Ethiopia. The government itself admitted that the essentiality of improving the land tenure system and such situation paves way to the true solution to the economic stalemate posed by the land system.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) recently announced that the existing land owning system which declares that land is owned by the government has blocked the transaction value of the land which in turn made the land value less. “Though the 1995 constitution introduced by EPRDF declares that land belongs to the public and the government, practically land is abused by cadres and brokers and they illegally transact it for their personal gain” the Prime Minister said.
He further said that to mitigate the problem, the land ownership system should be improved at least in the urban centers. Even after the Prime Minister’s statement, other good news is also herd which indicates that the government has an ambition to bring change on land policy not only in urban centers but also in rural parts of the country.
The second homegrown economic reform comprised the land reform plan. It indicates the possibility of utilizing land not only privately but also to cultivate the land by common ownership. It also included the right to get access to loan by using land as collateral from banks and to transact it by farmers.
For almost half a century, land has been categorized as wasted capital because of the absence of transaction value and such steps reversed the situation for the better. The rural land system was inhibited to get access to finance and support. It was also inhibited to get insurance coverage. Now the introduction of the new land policy might change such impediment for better.
The existing land owning system does not bring a sense of ownership because farmers have only use rights on land. Such situation again makes the sector to be denied access to investment, technology and knowledge. Hence, the land reform, if it is implemented, takes the sector to better status.
Professor Melese Damite an environmental law lecturer at Addis Ababa University, School of Law said that the land reform takes the current land system one step forward. “The new policy which reforms the system enhances the economic value of the land” he said.
Shewaferaw Shitahun is an economist working for various none governmental organizations. As to him, the land related questions have been raised for many decades but remained unresolved yet.
He further said that the question regarding land ownership was raised by students in 1960s as an economic issue. During the imperial era, land was owned by few land lords and tenants were living under appalling situation. But immediately after withdrawal of the imperial regime in response to the question raised, the question was recast as a political issue.
Later on, the Derg and the EPRDF regimes claimed that they resolved the question but the land ownership system still remained undefined clearly. The governments regarded themselves as God father of farmers but their intention was only to get their support for the reason that farmers are the majority in number of the population with more than 80%.
In his book published under the title; “The unprecedented challenging journey of my life and my participation in the Ethiopian revolution” in 2013, Let Col Birhanu Bayih, former official of Derg, wrote about the radical change of the land holding system and the confiscation of extra residential houses in urban centers. He said that when the proclamation with regard to land was introduced, the then Derg Chairman Let Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam praised the proclamation and leveled as the tool for abolishing the feudal system. Nevertheless, though the government regarded itself as a savior of farmers, the proclamation only gave farmers the use rights of land.
The EPRDF regime when it assumed power, it included the land issues in the constitution to further control over farmers and the then leader Melese Znawi warned that the land ownership issues, except by the government and nations and nationalities, are negotiable only on the grave yard of its regime.
These all indicates that how the ruling party intended to use the proclamation as a tool to perpetuate its power. The nominally recognition of land ownership in the EPRDF era as it belongs to the nations and nationalities further crippled the economic value of land. In the past, the land also was used to advance political interest of the ruling party rather than advancing its economic value and now it is time to change the policy by any means.
Some feel uncertain whether the introduction of the new land policy resolves generationally cumulated problems or not. Contrary, others claim that the new plan will address the long awaiting problems. According to Professor Melese, implementing the new policy is possible without constitutional amendment and can bring positive outcome.
“We did not get rid of the hangover of revolutionary democracy and it is understandable simply amending the constitution is hard, but step by step improving the situation is possible. Until the constitution is amended, it is possible to make land an engine for propelling economic progress” Melese said.
As to Shewaferaw, if citizens get access to land similar to other economic components such as finance and labor, realizing economic transformation will be possible. According to Melese, in 1605 and 1609, the British colonizers in Virginia and James town states of the United States, introduced land reform and enabled to raise productivity.
In those years, the blacks and red Indians were engaged as daily laborers in theses to states. When production was declined, the British asked themselves to understand the causes and made some studies and they found that both the productive and the lazy workers had been earning the same salary scale which posed reduction of productivity. On the other hand, the workers’ salary was hand to mouth which is unable to meet their basic needs. This intern demoralized them.
In order to resolve the problem, the British Colonizers provided one hectare land to each worker to possess and to cultivate it. They ordered the workers to produce tobacco and cotton and to supply the product to them so that enable to get market. The workers felt true sense of ownership and had raised productivity and changed agriculture to giant business.
He further said that the existing land policy similarly does not raise productivity, it rather encourages laziness. The argument comes from some corners, if land is privatized, farmers will be dispossessed and encourage monopolization of land by few individuals is baseless but the political cadres use the argument to keep the statuesque for long.
According to the renowned land researcher, Desalegn Rahmato, in the Ethiopian history, no tenant had possessed land and had no experience of selling the land to others. Peasants had been tenant with no land ownership entitlement. Peasants unlike the political cadres who want to control the life of farmers; they know what they are doing. Even in the severe climatic condition, they do not sell their livestock. Because they know after the end of the drought season, they would use their cows and oxen for their rehabilitation and to start new life.
Professor Mesele explained that he does not want to see land to be possessed by few individuals and if such trend is witnessed government should introduce laws which enable to supervise the malpractices. To that end the government formulate rules based on the regions’ and woredas’ objective reality on the ground to determine how much hectare of land a peasant can poses and it has to put standard at the national level.
The Ethiopian Herald March 31/2023
