Contemporary Processes of Large-Scale Land Acquisition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Legal Deficiency or Elite Capture of the Rule of Law?

2013 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura German ◽  
George Schoneveld ◽  
Esther Mwangi
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Elite Capture ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Large Scale Land

scholarly journals The Determinants of Large-Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A Case Study

Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Mazzocchi ◽  
Michele Salvan ◽  
Luigi Orsi ◽  
Guido Sali
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Policy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Land Acquisitions ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Investment Process ◽  
Agricultural Investments ◽  
Formal Recognition

The determinants of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) are, in most cases, outside the traditional sales–buying land market, as they are often rented lands for long periods of time or exploitation licenses. Sub-Saharan Africa is among the most affected regions by this phenomenon for reasons related to its land policy, and includes 37% of the total LSLAs cases. The paper develops an econometric model based on a logarithmic OLS regression to identify the determinants of LSLAs in sub-Saharan Africa. As suggested by the literature, this analysis poses the total agricultural area acquired by country as dependent variable. Results show that investors prefer a country offering a sufficiently free trade economic context with a good level of agricultural productivity, thus allowing an easy investment process. Moreover, a country with a formal recognition of land rights is preferred, to have guarantees on their investment. The availability of water is also one of the main LSLAs drivers, as a natural limit of agricultural investments.

scholarly journals Finance, governance and inclusive education in Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simplice A. Asongu ◽  
Nicholas M. Odhiambo
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Credit Access ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of credit access in modulating governance for gender-inclusive education in 42 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with data spanning the period 2004–2014. Design/methodology/approach The generalized method of moments is used as empirical strategy. Findings The following findings are established: First, credit access modulates government effectiveness and the rule of law to induce positive net effects on inclusive “primary and secondary education.” Second, credit access also moderates political stability and the rule of law for overall net positive effects on inclusive secondary education. Third, credit access complements government effectiveness to engender an overall positive impact on inclusive tertiary education. Originality/value Policy implications are discussed with emphasis on sustainable development goals.

scholarly journals A human rights-based approach: A gate to development of African women's land rights?

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Tengnäs
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Development ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Land Acquisitions ◽  
Large Scale Land ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

The global competition for African land is at a historical peak. Local effects of large-scale land acquisitions depend on multiple factors, but women's rights and livelihoods are generally very fragile due to historical and contemporary injustices. Good land governance is important for turning the land acquisitions into equal and equitable development opportunities. The human rights-based approach promotes good governance by adding strength and legal substance to the principles of participation and inclusion, openness and transparency, accountability and the rule of law, and equality and nondiscrimination. By empowering rights-holders and enhancing duty-bearers' capacity, international development cooperation can lead to wider and more gender-balanced inclusion of civil society in negotiations of large-scale land acquisitions and greater adherence of duty-bearers to the rule of law. This is especially important in African countries with large amounts of land and weak legal and institutional frameworks to protect rights, especially those of women.

scholarly journals Crime and Public Support for the Rule of Law in Latin America and Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 153-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon I. Smithey ◽  
Mary Fran T. Malone
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Crime poses a formidable obstacle to democratization in many parts of the developing world. New democracies in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa face some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Politicians, citizens, and policy-makers have raised the alarm about the growing tide of criminality. Public insecurity, coupled with inefficient and often corrupt justice systems, makes democratization uncertain. Even if new democracies do not revert to dictatorship, the quality of democracy may suffer if crime continues to rise. One particularly vulnerable component of democracy is the rule of law, as public insecurity may fuel support for extra-legal justice, and a willingness to disregard the law while aggressively pursuing suspected criminals. To test these relationships, we assess the ways in which criminal victimization, as well as fear of crime, affect citizen support for the rule of law. We utilize public opinion data collected in select countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa through two widely used sources – the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) and the Afrobarometer surveys.

scholarly journals Corruption and the Rule of Law in Sub-Saharan Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart S. Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
International Agency ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Centralized Planning ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractThe World Bank and IMF attribute underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa to the practice of directing economic activity through centralized planning. They prescribe privatization and economic liberalization to restructure African economies, promote competition, reduce the scope for corruption, and promote good governance. However, inadequate checks on political power permit African elites to subvert these reforms. This article reviews the political economy of sub-Saharan countries as well as a case study of Sierra Leone to illustrate the problem. The analysis suggests the need for an international agency such as the UN to provide the capacity to investigate, expose and check corruption by employing UN inspectors who are immune to pressure from powerful African elites. This type of check on corruption is necessary to promote the rule of law in sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Information technology, governance and insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1253-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simplice Asongu ◽  
Joseph Nnanna ◽  
Paul Acha-Anyi
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Internet Penetration ◽  
Insurance Penetration ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in modulating the effect of governance on insurance penetration in 42 Sub-Saharan African countries using data for the period 2004-2014. Design/methodology/approach Two insurance indicators are used in the analysis, namely, life insurance and non-life insurance. The three ICT modulating dynamics used include mobile phone penetration, internet penetration and fixed broadband subscriptions. Six governance channels are also considered, namely, political stability, “voice & accountability”, regulation quality, government effectiveness, the rule of law and corruption-control. The empirical evidence is based on generalized method of moments. Findings The following main findings are established. First, mobile phone penetration does not significantly modulate governance channels to positively affect life insurance while it effectively complements “voice & accountability” to induce a positive net effect on non-life insurance. Second, internet penetration complements governance dynamics of political stability, government effectiveness and rule of law to induce positive net effects on life insurance and corruption-control for an overall positive effect on non-life insurance. Third, the relevance of fixed broadband subscriptions in promoting life insurance is apparent via governance channels of regulation quality, government effectiveness and the rule of law while fixed broadband subscriptions do not induce significant overall net effects on non-life insurance though the conditional effects are overwhelmingly significant. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, studies on the relevance of ICT in promoting insurance consumption through governance channels are sparse, especially for a region such as Sub-Saharan Africa where insurance penetration is low compared to other regions of the world.

Sitting on the Land

Out of War ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 147-170
Author(s):  
Mariane C. Ferme
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
National Politics ◽  
The Face ◽  
Decentralized Governance ◽  
African Context ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Large Scale Land

Even in the broader African context, in which the chieftaincy has enjoyed a renaissance, the institution enjoys unusual power in Sierra Leone, where chiefs have strong representation and votes in national politics. Following more sedentary, land-based models of sovereignty in colonial times, the decade-long civil war saw the reemergence of alternative, more mobile models of the chieftaincy harkening back to precolonial times, in the face of massive population displacements. In the aftermath of war, when many chieftaincies were vacant, the possibility of replacing this hybrid hereditary-elected office with more democratic district councils was debated, but chiefs continue to be key members of these institutions, which rely on them for the collection of revenue and the administration of justice, particularly in rural areas. The chapter argues that the resurgence of this institution in sub-Saharan Africa is due to the ways in which chieftaincy stands for a more culturally legitimate form of decentralized governance, in contrast with the corrupt institutions of state governance. In Sierra Leone, the office’s continued identification with the local administration and allocation of land gives it renewed importance in the face of large-scale land deals with (and land grabs by) foreign investors. The expanding practice of conferring honorary chieftaincies to foreign agents of development contributes to the deterritorialization of the institution.

Plural Valuation of Land and Insights for Achieving Sustainable Outcomes in Large-Scale Land Acquisition Projects

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Nkansah-Dwamena
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Local Livelihoods ◽  
The Government ◽  
Large Scale Land

Large-scale land acquisition projects by foreign investors, also known as “land grabbing,” raise difficult questions about the processes of valuing land in Sub-Saharan Africa that the current literature does not sufficiently explore. Land acquisitions can help developing countries like Tanzania achieve their economic and development goals. Nonetheless, it can also threaten local livelihoods and well-being due to displacement, lack of access to natural capital, and conflicts between land users. Empirical evidence is limited on how local contexts affect the recognition and incorporation of multiple values that people hold about land into decisions on land acquisition projects in Tanzania. Plural valuation (PV) is needed to design more comprehensive and deliberative policy instruments that enhance nature’s contributions to people. This empirical study uses sociocultural valuation approaches to assess the diverse values of land in the Bagamoyo district of Tanzania, impacts of EcoEnergy land acquisition project on local livelihoods, and contextual factors that enable or hinder incorporating PV into decisions. The findings suggest that synergies and conflicting values of land exist, and PV can serve as a negotiation support tool to reconcile the differences and land conflicts. The success of PV relies on the (1) extent of partnership and participation, (2) design of asset valuation process, (3) stakeholder goals, and (4) sociopolitical context. Currently, the risks of land acquisition projects outweigh the benefits to people in rural Tanzania. However, to realize the sustainable and equitable flow of the contributions of land to Tanzanians, the government should consider improving the valuation processes by (i) fostering recognition of neglected voices and marginalized people, (ii) rectifying power imbalances and injustices that result from current land valuation processes, (iii) reinforcing customary land rights and compensation policies, and (iv) adhering to the principle of free, prior, and informed consent.

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