A report presented during a roundtable themed “Land tenure : a risk for investors and political stability”, last Thursday in Dakar, denounces various policies related to the management and monitoring of investors’ activities in African countries. The document which was presented by TMP Systems and the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) states that these policies allow multinationals to freely use land without providing any sort of compensation to locals.

“African nations are competing to attract investments to stimulate their economies. However, most of them must boost land governance in order to create an attractive and stable environment which will promote investments,” said TMP Systems’ president, Lou Munden, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise reports.

“Firms and investors being more aware of financial risks related to land tenure and how it can affect one’s reputation must identify various challenges opposing investments in emerging markets and overcome them. They should opt for a more operational than financial approach in order to manage this risk,” he said.

RRI’s study was based on a sample of 400 cases involving land conflicts related risks across eight African nations which are Senegal, Congo Republic, DRC, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria and Liberia.

The RRI is a group of partners and affiliated networks that defend land and forests rights of locals and indigenous populations. Present in about 20 countries across Africa, Asia and South America, it promotes a strong mobilization and action-taking worldwide, for the implementation of reforms in land rules, policies and markets in favor of the poorest.

Souha Touré