Village councils told to come up with land use plans

MINISTER for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development William Lukuvu has urged government village leaders to put in place the best plan land use in their localities.
He said there was need to ensure that any changing plan of the land use in their location includes grazing areas for their livestock as outlined in the land use plans of villages.
The minister made the call on Thursday in Kinywang'anga village, iringa region, while awarding customary title deeds to over 800 villagers.
“Before giving you the customary title deeds we need first to provide you with an efficient land use plan,” he said.
He said such documents will help villagers to do away with land conflicts countrywide, enabling people to live in peace.
“Most villages in the country have done a great job to come up with good land use plans. We provide documentation to enable people live in peace without conflicts,” he added.
He said there were few local leaders and village government leaders who were being bribed to disrupt set and approved land use plans by selling land in their respective villages, saying this was holding back development.
According to him, corrupt officials were also bringing in no grazing zone huge flocks which he said denied sustainability of the areas.
All village leaders from across the country should oversee the project implementation according t the stipulated laws, he said.
Kinywang'anga village chairman Adam Ngelime said the deal will help resolve land disputes in the village and boost the economy of the villagers.
According to Deputy Director of the US Development Agency (USAID) David Thompson, the project has been implemented in 41 villages in Iringa district.
He also pointed out that five villages in Mbeya district have also benefited from the project saying such a program aims to stimulate the development in the respective villages and lift its residents out of poverty.
In another development, Ngelime said that in studies conducted here by the country FAO office, between 60 per cent and 80 of production in the agricultural sector was attributed to women, adding that 55 per cent of land owners in the village were women.
“This will provide opportunities that will be a morale boost for food production in the district,” he pointed out.