Lands Ministry Procures Over 2.7bn/- Worth Vehicles To Speed Up LTIP Implementation -

By VALENTINE OFORO

TO fast- track implementation of the Land Tenure Improvement Project (LTIP), the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Human Settlements Development has purchased at least 16 new vehicles.

The vehicles, procured through the United Nations Organizations Procurement and Services (UNOPS) at a price of more than 2.7bn/- is part of the 70 vehicles that the parent ministry will purchase for the effective execution of the initiative.

Handing over the facilities yesterday in Dodoma Capital City, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements, Jerry Slaa spoke over the need for patriotic use of the vehicles.

Minister Slaa said the ongoing project which has been bankrolled by the World Bank (WB) at a tune of $150 million, (around 346bn/-), is the country’s maiden and vast initiative on lands management and settlement sector.

“This is the country’s first giant project on proper land management and ownership which involves billions of money and thus, make sure these vehicles are used intendedly,” the minister insisted.

He hailed President Samia Suluhu Hassan for enabling implementation of the vital project, observed that if executed effectively will play useful role in help strengthening land management sector across the country.

Among others, the Land Tenure Improvement Project (LTIP) focuses to increase the security of land ownership across the nation through implementing an array of inteventions towards planning, surveying, registering, and issuing land titles.

Speaking for his part, the project’s coordinator, Joseph Shewiyo expressed that the vehicles have been produced through the United Nations Organizations Procurement and Services (UNOPS).

He briefed, as per plans, the project will purchase a total of 70 vehicles, added, “To start with, we have decided to purchase these 16 vehicles, each cost more than 129m/-, whereby the remaining vehicles will be procured later in the future, ”

Shewiyo added that the introduction of the facilities was expected to speed up implementation pace in the vast project as they have been ‘arm-twisted ‘ to borrow the facilities from different public institutions since it inception.

Giving more relevant details, the coordinator stated that the initiative will work out a number of issues, all with patriotic efforts to improve lands management sector from grassroots across the country.

“The project entails a series of inteventions, including efforts to digitalise processing and storaging of all data pertaining to the land sector,” he informed.

Together with that, he unveiled that the other intevention will focus to build capacity of local workers involving in the lands planning and managing sector, as well as improving teaching structures at some lands colleges, including the colleges in Tabora and Morogoro.

“There will be also construction of a total of 25 new offices for lands in different 25 regions in order to improve performance in managing the vital sector in the regions,” he expressed.

The LTIP, which is collaborative effort between the government of Tanzanian and the World Bank, was nitiated in 2022, and is expected to phase out in 2027.

Its primary objective is to formalize land ownership for citizens in urban and rural areas, thereby enhancing the security of land tenure in Tanzania.

The LTIP initiative comes at a critical time when Tanzania faces several land tenure challenges that have hindered economic development and social stability.

Historically, the country has grappled with issues such as unclear land boundaries, lack of formal land titles, and disputes over land ownership.

These challenges are exacerbated in rural areas where customary land rights prevail, often without formal recognition, leaving communities vulnerable to land grabs and conflicts.

Moreover, the rapid urbanization in Tanzania has put additional pressure on land resources, leading to increased land conflicts, insecure land tenure for urban poor, and challenges in urban planning.