AN ASSESSMENT OF LAND TENURE AS A TOOL IN IMPROVING HOUSING CONDITIONS IN UNPLANNED SQUATTER AREAS A CASE STUDY OF CHINSAPO 1 RESIDENTIAL AREA (original) (raw)
Lilongwe, just like the other cities in Malawi, is facing rapid urbanization with the growth rate averaging in excess of 4 percent per annum (Lilongwe Urban Profile, 2011). It is the fastest growing city in the country. Low income informal settlements comprise 73 percent of the residential land share within and outside the city boundary peripheral (Mpanga, 2009). The rapid population growth rate is almost synonymous with the growth of informal settlements which are characterised by deplorable living and housing conditions. This document outlines a research report assessing land tenure as a tool in improving housing conditions in customary land tenure areas. The case study was in Chinsapo 1, a customary land tenure residential area located just outside the Lilongwe city boundary. The main objectives of the study was to: identify common plot acquisition methods in the area, find out physical housing conditions and land dispossession problems faced by people living within the area, define plot development trends within households since their settlement, establish the perceptions of people on land registration by Lilongwe City Council, find out the views of landowners towards use of land as collateral for loans once it was registered and to develop recommendations and procedures that can be effective in ensuring plot acquisition methods that can ensure acceptable standards of security of tenure by loan providers. The study was necessary because it will help identify the proper procedures through which land can be registered in customary land tenure areas in near or within major urban locations. The outcome of land registration is an incentive to improve housing conditions through access to credit from banks through the use of land and/or houses as collateral for taking loans from banks. The methodology used for the research included: desk studies, household questionnaire interviews at the study area and unstructured interviews with officials from LCA and CCODE. The data collected was processed into information using a combination of both Microsoft excel and IBM SPSS. The research found that plot acquisition in Chinsapo 1 is through the customary land tenure system where the land is under the authority of GVH Chisenga. No documents of proof are required once the money has changed hands. However the people were very positive towards land registration by LCC so as to enable them to get loans from banks through title deeds obtained to improve their living conditions. It was also found out that the people in Chinsapo 1 have never been threatened of evictions or resettlements. The researcher recommends that the government should transfer all the land in Lilongwe city‟s periphery to City of Lilongwe to ease land management and thereby ensure effective land delivery and development control and minimise the conflicts between LDC and LCA. The Malawi Government should implement a comprehensive National Housing Policy (NHP) to guide stakeholders in the development of housing for the urban poor in each city or urban settlement last but not the least, the Malawi Government should establish a National Housing Fund to address problems of housing finance for households, community based organisations and Lilongwe City.
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