The Nature of Resistance and Conflicts in the Compulsory Land-Acquisition Process in Tanzania

Compulsory land acquisition is one of the most challenging questions in land management. It is undesired by the land owners, as they have to be dispossessed against their will. The issue of compensation payable in respect to the acquisition is also alarming. Although several measures have been used by acquiring authorities to improve the compensation package, affected land owners are still dissatisfied. In fact, land acquisition has raised a number of criticisms and has caused conflict between the land owners or occupiers and the acquiring authority. The objective of this research is to identify appropriate compulsory land acquisition solutions in resolving conflict between the acquiring authorities and land owners/occupiers. This work explores the land acquisition practice in Tanzania, with special focus on the Julius Nyerere International Airport expansion project at Kipawa area. The researcher was attracted to study this case study and wished to have insight and knowledge into what factors caused such a conflict that is in dispute for more than ten years. The research examines the stages of the compulsory land acquisition process. It has been structured around a theoretical model (based on guidelines of FAO, 2008) that explains the acquisition process by dividing it into seven steps. The model also gives guidelines on how those steps should be implemented for successful compulsory land acquisition implementation. The seven steps are: Planning, Publicity and notification, Valuation and submission of claims, Payment of compensation, Possession, Appeals and Restitution The research assesses the applicability of the theoretical model together with the perceptions of affected land owners and the public sectors who acquires land. However, the guidelines provided by the FAO are general and have a rural and peri urban focus; they have been modified to suit the urban focus where this research is based. The research is exploratory and explored which factors contribute to conflict in the seven steps of the compulsory land acquisition process. The data was collected through semi- structured and structured questionnaires where by focus group discussion, interviews with the affected landowners, government officials, experts, NGOs and local leaders were done. The data collected was analysed though qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that the major factor that has influenced the conflict is the poor planning of the project, which has resulted in the delay of the compensation payment and has also delayed the start of the project. The estimated budget was poor and there was lack of a clear time framework. This verifies that the problem originated from the first step of the compulsory land acquisition. However, affected land owners perceive the seven steps to be good but they argue that proper implementation is needed to improve the process and this is through participation. Therefore, the research recommends various strategies that can be implemented to minimize conflict in a compulsory land acquisition process. The recommended strategies are; proper planning of the compulsory land acquisition projects, clear laws and regulations governing the land acquisition process, capacity building on the legal framework for the affected land owners, transparency in valuation exercises, fair compensation sums and effective affected land owners participation in the stages of the compulsory land acquisition process. Finally, the findings from this thesis indicate that further research should be carried out to assess how the seven steps of land acquisition process complies with the legal framework pertaining to compulsory land acquisition in Tanzania. Further research should also probe how laws and regulations could incorporate the rights of tenants and other vulnerable groups that may have a direct or indirect right to the subject land so that they may get some assistance during relocation or resettlement. Compulsory land acquisition, Acquisitor and Affected land owners