AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Law Reform Commission of Tanzania (LRCT) has handed over the long awaited report of Law Reform on Land Disputes Solution to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs after thorough review.
Speaking in Dodoma recently during the handover ceremony the Commission’s Chairman, Judge (rtd) January Msoffe, said LRCT collected opinions from a number of stakeholders in ten regions.
“After collecting opinions from judges, advocates, registers and chairpersons of Land Tribunals as well as Ward members and Council elders, we discovered a number of challenges resulting in land disputes,” he said while handing over the report to the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Dr Augustine Mahiga.
Judge Msoffe mentioned the regions as Shinyanga, Mwanza, Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Mbeya, Songwe and Dar es Salaam.
On the challenges, he said they sighted lack of financial and human resources, hence officers’ failure to carry out their duties professionally in the districts and regions.
His list also included long distance to be covered to Ward and District Land Tribunal offices, fees charged and poor means of communication, which technically combine to delay hearing cases.
On his part, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Dr Augustine Mahiga, commended the LRCT for the professional work, noting it should continue to work on the challenges it had discovered.
“LRCT should review outdated laws to end land disputes across the country. The LRCT should address the challenges that have been discovered,” he pointed out.
Earlier, the Commission’s Secretary, Mr Casmir Kyuki, said LRCT has managed to work on laws governing land disputes within the timeframe, adding that they carried out the work timely.
He noted that the research project executed by LRCT is part of its responsibilities to improve law governing the land, whih deserve praise.
