Member states of the East African Community (EAC) have reaffirmed their commitment to implement the African Union (AU) declaration on land, the EAC said in a statement on Friday.
The AU declaration on land urges member states to develop comprehensive land policies that address the specific needs of each state, and build adequate human, financial and technical capacities in accordance with the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa.
The statement issued by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha said the first meeting of the EAC regional platform for sharing lessons and best practices in land policy development was held in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Aug. 17 and Aug. 18.
The statement said the meeting called on the EAC secretariat in collaboration with the African Land Policy Center (ALPC) to convene periodic meetings of the platform.
The meeting noted that such periodic forums would facilitate the sharing of experiences, information, lessons learnt and best practices in land policy formulation and implementation, said the statement.
Joan Kagwanja, the coordinator at the ALPC and UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said land governance issues cut across several economic sectors, adding that advancing these sectors would be an appreciation of the cross-cutting nature of land.
The EAC member states are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Uganda. Enditem
