Land registration system in Ethiopia : comparative analysis of Amhara, Oromia, SNNP and Tigray Regional States
Abebe, Solomon
The key focus of this paper is firstly on the registration system, process and status in four regions (Amhara, SNNP, Oromia and Tigray). The second focus is on issues, constraints, and opportunities of land registration. Based on the findings, the paper aims to make practical recommendations. The paper is largely based on a review of land registration literatures and discussions with regional experts in the field. Land registration is a process of recording rights on land which provides safe and certain foundation of acquisition and disposal of rights in land, where disposition includes transfer, leasing and mortgage (investors) of the holding rights in the context of Ethiopia land policy. Land registration and cadastre usually complement each other; they operate as interactive systems. At present a multi-purpose cadastre is common and incorporates into one source the data concerning the legal and fiscal cadastre along with information on land use, soil and other factors. Registration of holdings and granting land use-right certificates to holders have recently become a government policy in Ethiopia. Land registration institutions have been established in the four major regions. The policy was changed when the Tigray region started a comprehensive rural land registration and certification process in 1998; Amhara region started formal land registration in 2003. Then Oromia and SNNPR followed suit. In the process of land registration, communal, forest and grazing lands were also delineated, registered and certified.
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