Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Msosa says development of the Customary Land Act is critical for the country’s socio-economic development.
He said this on Friday in Lilongwe during a stakeholders meeting on the draft subsidiary legislation to the Customary Land Act.
Msosa observed that once the country has the Act in place, it would attract funding for various development projects.
He cited Shire Valley Irrigation Project and some agriculture commercialisation projects as needing the support of Customary Land Act for smooth implementation.
Msosa said once the Act is enacted, issues of land disputes of customary land that affected the country in the past would be minimised.
“The Act will reduce the burden most traditional leaders had in the country in settling land issues on customary land,” he said.
Traditional Authority (T/A) Mlolo of Nsanje thanked the ministry for including traditional leaders in the review of the draft Act, saying this has enabled them to appreciate what is contained in the new Customary Land Act.
She said the new Act would best be implemented if sensitisation meetings are held nationwide. n
