Boundary disputes, property grabbing, and weak protection […]

Boundary disputes, property grabbing, and weak protection for women and vulnerable households are on the rise in Zambia, largely due to fragmented land records.

Sonny Mulenga, Council Member and Chairperson of Compliance & Ethics at the Zambia Institute of Valuation Surveyors (ZIVS), explained in an interview with the Zambian Business Times (ZBT) that the Zambia National Land Titling Programme faces both technical and affordability challenges.

For many lower-income households, the required K1,500 fee is significant, especially in a challenging economic climate. Mulenga pointed out that Zambia’s dual land system complicates customary land documentation.

 The absence of a formal registry in chiefdoms leads to frequent boundary disputes and makes untitled land especially vulnerable to inheritance disputes, double allocations, and informal payments. He also referenced Habitat for Humanity’s Africa compendium, which links weak tenure security in Zambia to property grabbing, particularly affecting widows and children.

 Moreover, Mulenga argued that the digitization of land records by the Ministry of Lands risks excluding poorer populations without digital access. “The programme cannot work at scale if cadastral data, ownership records, payment systems, and title issuance are not integrated and accessible to citizens,” Mulenga said.He stressed the urgent need for decentralization: “You cannot have a system where everybody has to travel to Lusaka in case of issues.”

Article by Karen Ngulube