Land Policy In Africa Conference To Focus On Fighting Corruption

Preparations are underway for third edition of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA-2019) which will convene under the theme, ‘Winning the Fight against Corruption in the Land Sector: Sustainable Pathway for Africa’s Transformation’.

The conference, scheduled for November in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, is a policy and learning event whose goal is to deepen capacity for land policy in Africa through improved access to knowledge and information on land policy development and implementation.

The theme supports the African Union declaration of 2019 as the Anti-Corruption Year under the theme “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.

Corruption is a major impediment to efforts to promote governance, socio-economic transformation, peace, security and human rights. Combating corruption by improving good land governance through robust policies and institutions is critical to the realization of the “The Africa We Want,” as envisioned in the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

“We are happy that the AU’s theme this year is focusing fighting corruption on the continent. Graft in land governance is rife in many African nations and the conference will help us come up with ways to tackle land governance deficiency issues which have led to high levels of corruption,” said Ms. Joan Kagwanja of the Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) African Land Policy Centre (ALPC).

She said corruption generally undermines social stability, investment, broad-based economic growth and sustainable development.

“If we are to attain the sustainable development goals and the aspirations of the continent’s Agenda 2063 then we need to unite as Africans through our institutions and as individuals to fight corruption which continues to affect our developmental plans,” added Ms. Kagwanja.

The 3rd edition of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa is being organised by the African Land Policy Centre which is a joint initiative of the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and the ECA.

The conference, which will be held from 25-29 November, 2019, is expected to attract over 450 participants, including government representatives, traditional leaders, civil society organisations, lawmakers, academicians and development institution officials.