Corruption in the Post-1991 Urban Land Governance of Ethiopia: Tracing Major Drivers in the Law
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48346/IMIST.PRSM/ajlp-gs.v4i1.22268Keywords:
Urban Land Governance Corruption Legal Framework Ethiopia Post-1991Abstract
Rapid urban population growth and spatial expansion of urban centers have brought unprecedented demand for land in developing countries such as Ethiopia. The dramatic shifts in urban land tenure from Feudal System (pre-1974) to Socialist Land Policy (1974- 1991) and to the current system (post-1991) have left the urban populations uncertain about their property rights. The historical context coupled with the complex legal and institutional structure and the absence of proper records of rights and restrictions have invigorated corruption in the land sector. Despite of the anti-corruption aspirations of post-1991 laws, corruption and rent-seeking have become pervasive in the urban land governance. This paper intends to analyses five common urban governance sectors: the political economy of urban land governance, lease based land acquisition and lease contract administration, urban planning and development, land registration and regularization, and urban land dispute settlement. It then argues that the law itself opens a loophole for corruption through ambiguous stipulations, non-transparent implementations and the new metaphor ie ‘appropriate body' common in all the five dimensions. Inspired by Robert Klitgaard’s influential corruption formula (Monopoly + Discretion - Accountability = Corruption), the article recommends urgent revision into the laws in a way to reduce discretionary powers.References
• Achamyeleh Gashu, Land readjustment as an alternative land development tool for peri-urban areas of Ethiopia", Property Management, Vol. 33 Issue 1, 2015
• Berhanu Keno et als, Urban Expansion in Ethiopia from 1987 to 2017: Characteristics, Spatial Patterns, and Driving Forces, Sustainability, Vol. 11, 2019
• Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Proclamation No. 1/1995. Negarit Gazeta. Year 1 No. 1
• Corruption Crimes Proclamation No. 881/ 2015, Negarit Gazzeta 21st Year No 36
• Daniel Weldegebriel, Land Rights And Expropriation In Ethiopia, Doctoral Thesis in Land Law, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm, 2013
• Daniel Weldegebriel, Land Rights in Ethiopia: Ownership, equity, and liberty in land use rights, FIG Working Week 2012
• David Palmer et als, Towards Improved Land Governance, Land Tenure Working Paper 11, 2009
• David, P., Szilard, F. and Babette, W. (2009). Towards improved land governance. Available: http://www.fao.org/3/a-ak999e.pdf (last accessed on 08/13/2019)
• Elias N. Stebek, Role Conflict between Land Allocation and Municipal Services in Ethiopia", Mizan Law Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2013
• Ethiopian Criminal Procedure Code, Proclamation No 185/1961
• Federal Attorney General Establishment Proclamation No. 943/2016. Negarit Gazzeta, 22nd Year No. 62,
• Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission Establishment Proclamation No. 235/2001, Federal Negarit Gazzeta, 7th Year No. 23
• Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Report, 2014
• Gudeta Kebede, Political Corruption: Political and Economic State Capture In Ethiopia, European Scientific Journal, Vol.9, No.35, 2013
• Janelle Plummer (eds), Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia: Perceptions, Realities and the Way Forward for World Bank Group Key Sectors, The World Bank, 2012
• Klaus Deininger et als, The Land Governance Assessment Framework: Identifying and Monitoring Good Practice In The Land Sector, The World Bank, 2012
• Matthew Stephenson, Klitgaard’s Misleading “Corruption Formula”, The Global Anticorruption Blog, May 27, 2014 available at https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2014/05/27/klitgaards-misleading-corruption-formula/ (last accessed on 08/13/2019)
• Melakamu Belachew, An Administrative Approach to the Need for Effective Real Estate Registration in Bahir Dar City: A Tool for Safeguarding Dwellers' Real Property Rights,
• Melaku Tanku and Eyasu Kumera, A Study on the Impact of the Current Land Lease Law on Business and Investment Expansion, Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations, 2016
• Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Construction (MUDHCo), State Of Ethiopian Cities Report, 2015
• Mutondoro, F. Ncube, M.J, An Analysis of Transparency and Accountability in Land sector Governance in Zimbabwe, Transparency International Zimbabwe, 2013
• Proclamation to Provide for Special Procedure and Rules of Evidence on Anti-Corruption No. 236/2001
• Rebira Kibret Beyene, the power of administrative agencies concerning urban land dispute settlement: the case study on dukem and Burayou City Administrations, LLM thesis, Addis Ababa University, 2019
• Re-Enactment of Urban Lands Lease Holding Proclamation No. 272/2002, Negarit Gazeta, 8th year No. 19
• Samira Lindner, Ethiopia: Overview of corruption in land administration, Transparency International, 2014
• Solomon Tesfay Ghebrehiwet, Procedures and Causes Leading to Corruption in Urban Land Management in Addis Ababa: The Case of Yeka Sub City, Developing Country Studies, Vol.7, No.11, 2017
• The Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Proclamation No. 414/2004
• The Disclosure and Registration of Assets Proclamation No. 668/2010
• The Revised Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission Establishment Proclamation No. 433/2005, Negarit Gazzeta, 11th Year No.18
• Tony Burns et als, Establishing A Legal Cadastre For Good Governance In Ethiopia: Identifying Bottlenecks And Steps Toward Scale-Up, Paper prepared for presentation at the "2017 World Bank Conference On Land And Poverty" The World Bank - Washington Dc, March 20-24, 2017.
• Transparency International, Corruption Perception Index 2018, available at https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018 (last visited 30-07-2019)
• Transparency International, Global Corruption Barometer 2010/2011, The East African Bribery Index 2013
• Transparency International, Global Corruption Barometer Africa 2019: Citizen's Views and Experiences of Corruption, 2019 available at https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/corruption-perceptions-index (last visited 30-07-2019)
• UNDP, Governance for Sustainable Development Integrating Governance in the Post-2015 Development Framework, Discussion Paper, March 2014
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, 2018 (Online Edition)
• Urban Land Holding Registration Proclamation No. 818/2014, Negarit Gazette, 20th year No 25, (Hereinafter referred Proclamation No. 818/2014)
• Urban Lands Lease Holding Proclamation No. 721/2011, Negarit Gazeta, 18th Year No.4 (Hereinafter referred to as Proclamation No. 721/2011)
• Urban Lands Lease Holding Proclamation No. 80/1993, Negarit Gazeta. Year 53, No. 40 (Hereinafter referred to as Proclamation No. 80/1993)
• Urban Planning Proclamation No. 574/ 2008, Negarit Gazeta, Year 14, No. 29 (Hereinafter referred to as Proclamation No. 574/2008)
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS UNDER THE LAW
Urban land governance: the legal structures and decision-making processes concerning access to land and its use, the implementation of such decisions, as well as institution and stakeholder management and the way all of them can shape the development of a city.
Urban administration: an organ established by law or delegated by appropriate body to exercise the powers and functions of urban administration.
Urban land: land located within an administrative boundary of an urban center.
Urban center: any locality having a municipal administration or a population size of 2000 or more inhabitants of which at least 50% of its labor force is, primarily, engaged in non-agricultural activities.
Appropriate body: a body of a region or a city administration vested with the power to administer and develop urban land
Urban Land Law: a body of laws regulating urban land governance in Ethiopia including but not limited to Urban Land Lands Lease Holding Proclamation No. 721/2011, Registration Proclamation No. 818/2014 and Planning Proclamation No. 574/ 2008.
