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1 in 4 people worry about losing their home, new data confirms

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By witnessradio.org/  Land portal

The first official results from an international survey of how secure people feel in their homes and on their land reveal that in the initial 15 countries surveyed, 25% of citizens are concerned that their property could be taken away from them. This aligns with earlier findings from a pilot study in three countries.

Prindex, a joint initiative of the Global Land Alliance and Overseas Development Institute (ODI), is the result of over two years of research and development of methods to accurately measure perceptions, and will make a vital contribution to efforts to measure and address property rights insecurity and related issues, including via the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The countries surveyed using the approved methodology were Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Honduras, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Thailand and Zambia. An additional 18 countries will be surveyed by the end of this year, and the project aims to cover over 100 countries by the end of 2019.

Findings from the first round of data collection and analysis include:

  • Big differences in rates of tenure insecurity across the sample, with only 8% of respondents saying they felt insecure in Rwanda, compared to 44% in Burkina Faso
  • The two most common reasons for feeling insecure were: ‘owner/renter may ask me to leave’ and ’family disagreements’
  • Across all countries renters felt more tenure insecure than owners
  • Across the 15 countries, there was not that much difference between men’s and women’s perceptions of tenure security. However, when respondents were asked how worried they were that they would be forced to leave in the event of divorce or spousal death, women were markedly more worried than men
  • Younger respondents were on average, more insecure than older ones, with tenure insecurity being 10.5 percentage points higher for 18-24 year olds than for those aged 55+ across the 15 countries
  • In just over half of the countries, respondents in urban areas reported tenure insecurity rates that were between two and 10 percentage points higher than in rural areas
  • In a similar proportion of countries, those with formal documentation reported feeling more secure than those without.

 

Anna Locke, Head the Agricultural Development and Policy Programme at ODI and Co-Director of Prindex said: “What our results show is that a staggering 41 million people in the countries surveyed think that it is likely or very likely that they will lose the right to use their property in the next five years. This will affect the way they behave, and their countries’ overall development prospects.”

Malcolm Childress, Co-Executive Director of the Global Land Alliance and Co-Director of Prindex said: “Measuring perceptions gives us a much more nuanced picture of property rights. In some countries a legal title might be a reliable source of tenure security, whereas in others it might be meaningless if the government can revoke it at a moment’s notice. In others still, traditional systems of property rights may provide security even without legal documentation. By asking how people feel about their property rights, we get an insight into how they might behave, and the broader obstacles to investment and economic development.”

To date, the lack of global and comparative data has prevented policymakers, academics, businesses and others from understanding the scale and nature of tenure insecurity and knowing how to improve it. By measuring perceptions of land and property rights security, Prindex seeks to close this gap and help address this pressing development problem. Prindex is funded by Omidyar Network and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Peter Rabley, Venture Partner at Omidyar Network, said: “Prindex is truly groundbreaking as it asks people for the first time what they think about and want from property rights at a global scale, filling a critical data gap for governments, non-profits, social entrepreneurs, donors, and community leaders. We are excited to support Prindex as it continues to build its dataset, unlocking on-the-ground insights that will lead to better solutions for the myriad of issues tied to property rights—from social identification and inclusion to economic stability, environmental stewardship, and more.”

DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Statement: The Energy Sector Strategy 2024–2028 Must Mark the End of the EBRD’s Support to Fossil Fuels

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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is due to publish a new Energy Sector Strategy before the end of 2023. A total of 130 civil society organizations from over 40 countries have released a statement calling on the EBRD to end finance for all fossil fuels, including gas.

From 2018 to 2021, the EBRD invested EUR 2.9 billion in the fossil energy sector, with the majority of this support going to gas. This makes it the third biggest funder of fossil fuels among all multilateral development banks, behind the World Bank Group and the Islamic Development Bank.

The EBRD has already excluded coal and upstream oil and gas fields from its financing. The draft Energy Sector Strategy further excludes oil transportation and oil-fired electricity generation. However, the draft strategy would continue to allow some investment in new fossil gas pipelines and other transportation infrastructure, as well as gas power generation and heating.

In the statement, the civil society organizations point out that any new support to gas risks locking in outdated energy infrastructure in places that need investments in clean energy the most. At the same time, they highlight, ending support to fossil gas is necessary, not only for climate security, but also for ensuring energy security, since continued investment in gas exposes countries of operation to high and volatile energy prices that can have a severe impact on their ability to reach development targets. Moreover, they underscore that supporting new gas transportation infrastructure is not a solution to the current energy crisis, given that new infrastructure would not come online for several years, well after the crisis has passed.

The signatories of the statement call on the EBRD to amend the Energy Sector Strategy to

  • fully exclude new investments in midstream and downstream gas projects;
  • avoid loopholes involving the use of unproven or uneconomic technologies, as well as aspirational but meaningless mitigation measures such as “CCS-readiness”; and
  • strengthen the requirements for financial intermediaries where the intended nature of the sub-transactions is not known to exclude fossil fuel finance across the entire value chain.

Source: iisd.org

Download the statement: https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-09/ngo-statement-on-energy-sector-strategy-2024-2028.pdf

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PETITIONS

Complaint against unprofessional conduct of the DPC Kiryandongo district for aiding and abetting land grabbing in kiryandongo district.

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The Commandant,

Professional Standards Unit, Uganda Police-Kampala.

Dear Sir/Madam;

RE: COMPLAINT AGAINST UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT OF THE DPC KIRYANDONGO DISTRICT FOR AIDING AND ABETTING LAND GRABBING IN NYAMUTENDE KITWARA PARISH KIRYANDONGO DISTRICT AND CARRYING OUT ILLEGAL ARRESTS AND DETENTION OF INNOCENT RESIDENTS/ BIBANJA OWNERS FOR PROTESTING AGAINST THE ILLEGAL EVICTION FROM THEIR LAND.

We act for and behalf of the Lawful and bonafide occupants of Land described as LRV MAS 2 FOLIO 8 BLOCK 8 PLOT 22 (FORMERLY KNOWN AS RANCH 22).

Our Clients are residents of Nyamutende Village, Kitwara Parish in Kiryandongo District where they have lived for more than 30 years and sometime in 2017, they applied for a lease of the said Land to Kiryandongo District Land Board through the Directorate of Land Matters State House.

As they were still awaiting their Application to be processed, they were shocked to establish that the said land had been instead leased to and registered in the names of Isingoma Julius, Mwesige Simon, John Musokota William, Tumusiime Gerald, Wabwire Messener Gabriel, Ocema Richard and Wilson Shikhama, some of whom were not known to the Complainants. A copy of the Search is attached hereto

Our clients protested the above action and appealed to relevant offices, but were shocked to discover that the above persons had gone ahead and sold the same to a one Maseruka Robert.

Aggrieved by these actions, the Complainants appealed to the RDC who advised them to institute proceedings against the said persons, and assigned them a one Mbabazi Samuel to assist them to that effect. The said Mbabazi accordingly filed Civil Suit Noa 46 of 2019 against tne said registered proprietors at Masindi High Court challenging the illegal and fraudulent registration, sale and transfer of the subject land to Maseruka Robert.

While awaiting the progress of the case mentioned hereinabove, the Complainants were surprised to find that the said Mbabazi, instead of assisting them, he went into a consent settling the said suit on their behalf without their knowledge or consent. A copy of the Consent is attached hereto.

Among the terms of the said consent Judgment was that the residents would be compensated without specifying how much and would in return vacate the Land.

As if that was not enough, Maseruka Robert and Mbabazi Samuel are going ahead to execute the said Consent Judgment by forcefully evicting the occupants without compensation which has prompted the complainants to challenge the said Consent by applying for its review and setting aside at Masindi High Court which is coming up for hearing on the 29th March 2023. A copy of the Application is attached hereto.

Sensing the imminent threat of eviction, we also filed an application for interim stay of execution of the said consent to avoid rendering their application for review nugatory but unfortunately the same could not be heard on the date it was fixed for hearing (6th February 2023). A copy of the Application is attached hereto

On Thursday last week, three tractors being operated by 6 workers of a one Mbabazi Samuel [the very person who had been entrusted to represent our Clients to secure their Land through Civil Suit No.46 of 2019] encroached close to 50 acres of our Clients’ land and started ploughing it but our Client’s protested and chased them away.

We have however been shocked to receive information from our Clients that on Sunday at Mid night, 3 police patrols invaded the community in the night and arrested community members; Mulenje Jack, Steven Kagyenji, Mulekwa David, Ntambala Geoffrey, Tumukunde Isaac 15 years, Kanunu Innocent, Mukombozi Frank, Kuzara, Rwamunyankole Enock, and took them to Kiryandongo Police Station where they are currently detained.

We strongly protest the illegal arrests and detention of our Clients as this is a carefully orchestrated land grabbing scheme by Maseruka Robert and Mbabazi Samuel who are  receiving support from the DPC Kiryandongo.

The purpose of this Letter therefore is to request your good office to investigate the misconduct, abuse of office and unprofessionalism of the said DPC Kiryandongo District and all his involvement in the land grabbing schemes on land formerly known as Ranch 22.

Looking forward to your urgent intervention,

C.C The Head Police Land Protection Unit Police Head Quarters Naguru

CC The RDC Kiryandongo District

CC The Chairman LCVKityadongo District

CC The Regional Police CommanderAlbertine Region

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WITNESS RADIO MILESTONES

The Executive Director of Witness Radio Uganda talks about the role played by Witness Radio in protecting communities affected by large-scale agribusinesses in Kiryandongo district in an interview with the ILC.

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