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Traditional Landholding Certificates in Zambia: Preventing or Reinforcing Commodification and Inequality?

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  • Erik Green
  • Milja Norberg

Abstract

The formalisation of customary land rights in Africa, as an alternative to their privatisation, is gaining increasing attention from scholars and policy makers. In this article, we use findings from Petauke district in eastern Zambia to discuss the impact of such reforms, where so-called traditional landholding certificates were implemented by the Petauke District Land Alliance in 2010. Based on interviews with farmers, chiefs and the Alliance, we argue that the certificates have reinforced, rather than reversed, both commodification of land and increased inequality of access to land. The main reason is that the certificates provide chiefs and lineage seniors with an efficient tool to further impose institutionally induced scarcity, thereby failing to provide already vulnerable groups with more secure rights to land.

Suggested Citation

  • Erik Green & Milja Norberg, 2018. "Traditional Landholding Certificates in Zambia: Preventing or Reinforcing Commodification and Inequality?," Journal of Southern African Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 613-628, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:cjssxx:v:44:y:2018:i:4:p:613-628
    DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2018.1461490
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    Cited by:

    1. Bridget Bwalya Umar & Progress H. Nyanga, 2023. "Customary Land Certification, Governance and Natural Resource Use in Zambia: A Social Learning Approach," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(5), pages 997-1027, October.

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