Land Administration Reform Project Benefits Land Owners in Lesotho

For the past five years, Kadaster International has been responsible for project managing the ‘Land Administration Reform Project’ (LARP) in Lesotho, Africa. Laws and regulations have been altered and a new Land Act adopted. Land owners can now receive a lease which proves that the land is rightfully theirs.

A formal proof of ownership makes a huge difference for the ordinary people in Lesotho. They can leave their land as inheritance in a will and choose who will inherit it, or they can use their land as collateral for a loan.

Speeding up land registration

The reforms in laws and regulations changed some elements of the process of land registration. Leases can be issued or changed within 3 weeks. Before, this could take more than a year. Also due to the new Land Act, the Land Administration Authority (LAA) was founded. To support the work at the LAA, a Land Management System (LMS) has been developed. The system is based on the Open Source Solutions for Open Land Administration (SOLA), from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO staff trained local developers and adjusted the system to the demands of the LAA.

Formal ownership registered

At the end of 2008 only 12,000 leases were formally registered. By September 2013 the international and national consultants in the project had identified some 60,000 land owners and mapped their parcels. The project managed to deliver 10,000 signed and registered leases to the lessees. The LAA is now continuing this work with extra funding from the Government of Lesotho, which proves the sustainability of the LAA. The Millennium Challenge Cooperation (MCC) from the USA was the donor for this project. Their objective is to reduce poverty worldwide by stimulating economic growth. The project encountered numerous challenges along the way. In the end, government support strengthened. This resulted in strong support towards the LAA. The registration of land provides a basis for improving the economy in Lesotho.