People in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kunthembwe in Blantyre have expressed optimism that the customary land registration exercise underway in the area will end land disputes.
Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (Mwasip) is implementing the exercise to ensure people register their land to legitimise their ownership.
Speaking on Wednesday when Ministry of Lands and a delegation from Madagascar visited the area to appreciate the exercise, group village head Majora said despite the exercise facing resistance during its inception, the communities now understand its importance.
He said: “At first, many people were resisting to participate in the exercise due to misconceptions that government wanted to grab their land.
“But we now know that it is important because it will end land disputes.”
Blantyre district director of agricultural services Edward Katunga said the district has registered a drop in land disputes.
“There is a need for ownership of the land and if communities don’t own it, they will not be accepted to develop that land when implementing projects such as environmental
conservation,” he said.
Ministry of Lands surveyor general Masida Mbano called for more sensitisation for citizens to understand the importance of registering land.
He said: “We have a team from Madagascar that has come to see how the demarcation and registration of land is happening in Malawi because they have been told that here in Malawi, things are working better than in other countries.
“Second, we are doing public display, which means that all the parcels which were surveyed on the ground are being verified by community members in terms of land size, names and boundaries.”
Mwasip programme coordinator Peter Kadewere said the project gives an assurance to citizens in terms of land ownership.
The programme is also implementing environmental conservation activities in the district.
