Article of the Month -
March 2007
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Corruption and Land Administraton
Paul VAN DER MOLEN and Arbind TULADHAR, the Netherlands
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This article in .pdf-format.
SUMMARY
The paper
addresses corruption in land administration and land management. Based on
information that is published in the free press, the conclusion is drawn
that all distinguished forms of corruption occur (abuse of discretion for
personal gain, for others against payment, for family or party members
etc.). The extension and characteristics cannot be estimated because of the
hidden nature of corruption. Then the paper pays attention to possible
measures how to curb corruption.
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper addresses corruption in land administration.
Although there is not a universally agreed definition of corruption,
UN/Habitat defines corruption as 'the misuse of office for private gain'
(UN/Habitat, 2004). Some common forms of corruption are
- Bribery (’abuse of discretion in favour of a third party in exchange
of benefits given by the third party’)
- Fraud (’abuse of discretion for private gain without third parties
involvement’)
- Favouritism, Nepotism and Clientelism (’abuse of discretion not for
self-interest but for the interest of family, clan, political party,
ethnic group etc. (based on UN/Habitat, 2004)
Corruption has the most devastating effects in developing countries
because it hinders any advance in economic growth and democracy (UNDP, 1998)
‘Land administration is the process of determining, recording, and
disseminating information about ownership, value and use of land; when
implementing land management policies’ (UN/ECE 1996). As land administration
is strongly related with land management (the rationale for land
administration is to facilitate land management), in this paper both land
administration and land management issues are addressed.
Access to land and land related benefits is an important factor to reduce
poverty and create economic growth (WB, 2003)
‘Abuse of discretion’ might easily apply to the land issue, as the
administration and management of land belongs to the domain of government
authority (although cooperation with private sector and civil parties is
common). Formal decisions are necessary to register a property, to grant a
mortgage, to impose or lift restrictions and to allocate a certain land use,
which implies discretionary powers of the public sector.
‘Nepotism, Favouritism and Clientelism’ might easily apply to the land
issue, as access to land in many situations is dependent kinship, especially
under customary law.
By consequence, in a world where corruption is getting more and more an
issue (see e.g. UN. Habitat 2004),( Törhönen, 2006) (OECD 2000),(UNU, 2005),
paying attention to corruption in the field of land administration and land
management is inevitable.
To avoid the impression that corruption is a matter of developing
countries only, we commence with a brief Chapter 2 about our own country,
the Netherlands, although the land issue seems not to be a dominant element
here. Then we report on desk research to the occurrence of corruption world
wide. No selection was done in advance: we searched the web for free press
and free publications. Although it is said that corruption is hidden, we
were amazed by how much openness existed about misbehaviour regarding land
administration and land management.
In Chapter 4 we try to analyze and categorize the forms of corruption,
while Chapter 5 aims at providing some ideas about how to curb corruption.
Chapter 6 gives some conclusions and recommendations
2. CORRUPTION IN A CORRUPTION FREE COUNTRY
Almost no country is free from corruption (UNDP, 1998).
More than two-thirds of the 159 nations surveyed in Transparency
International’s 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scored less than 5
out of a clean score of 10, indicating serious levels of corruption in a
majority of the countries surveyed.
'Despite progress on many fronts, including the imminent entry into force of
the United Nations Convention against Corruption, seventy countries - nearly
half of those included in the Index - scored less than 3 on the CPI,
indicating a severe corruption problem, says the Index (TI, 2005d)
Regarding the Netherlands -by many people considered as a corruption-free
country (CSR, 2001)- the rate in the CPI is as follows:
CPI 2001 the Netherlands: rate 8
CPI 2002 the Netherlands: rate 7
CPI 2003 the Netherlands: rate 7
CPI 2004 the Netherlands: rate 10
CPI 2005 the Netherlands: rate 11
With an national integrity system that almost meets all guidelines of
Transparency International (CSR 2001), an investigation of the Free
University of Amsterdam for the Ministry of Justice (Huberts & Nelen, 2005),
reveals as follows:
- in the public sector there are a limited number of criminal cases
each year, namely 50 cases resulting in 27 convictions, 78 persons
imprisoned
- within the whole public sector 130 internal investigations are
conducted each year (61 municipalities and 43 national ministries, rest
other bodies)
- the bulk of investigations regards purchases and subsidies, only a
few cases of land transactions and housing are reported
- a survey among 341 representatives of public organisations shows
that they perceive 3,2% of all civil servants to be corrupt, and 5,2% of
politicians.
- 0,5 % of Dutch respondents perceive being confronted by corruption
by civil servants
These two last conclusions were challenged by an investigation by an
opinion poll bureau, that found that 800 citizen-respondents perceive that
civil servants and politicians are respectively 3 and 5 times higher than
that of the University reports (Elsevier, 2006)
The 2005 Annual Social Report of the Dutch Central Government reports
that the number of civil servants in ministries which are guilty or
suspected of corruption is doubled from 59 in 2004 to 136 in 2005 (NRC,
2006)
The investigations mentioned above don't indicate an important role of
the land sector in corruption. However, making regarding corruption in the
form of fraud (use of knowledge for private gain, without necessary
involvement of third parties) (Huberts & Neelen 2005), there is general
concern about fraud in the real estate market. It is said that this market
has to contend with a worsening image, caused by long drawn-out affairs in
the realm of the national building- and construction fraud, and a series of
liquidations in the criminal circuit regarding real estate transactions.
These factors harm the overall picture of the estate market in such a way,
that there are suggestions to create a 'supervising authority for the real
estate market' with the power to spot suspected transactions, and bring
these to the knowledge of the public prosecutor (Eichholz, 2006).
3. LAND AND CORRUPTION: RESULTS OF A BRIEF DESK RESEARCH
Desk research (including internet-search during March and April 2006)
reveals that land management and land administration are not free from
corruption. Of course our observations cannot include an estimation about
the extent and nature of corruption regarding land, as the nature of
corruption is that it takes place in a hidden way. We report about the cases
which are documented and reported in free press and publications.
A household study in Bangladesh (TI, 2005a) under 3000 households shows
that 97% households that bought land had to pay bribes for land
registration, 85% of the households who mutated their land ownership had to
pay bribes for land mutation, 85% households who collected land related
documents had to pay bribes, 83% households had to pay bribes for land
survey, and 40% households who received land had to pay bribes.
The India Corruption Study (TI, 2005b) states that 79% of those
interacting with the Land Administration Department in the country had
agreed that there is corruption in the department. Only 5% of respondents
felt that there is no corruption in the department. Of those who paid
bribes, more than 36% had paid money to department officials, whereas 33%
had paid money to middlemen like document writers, property dealers etc. to
get their work done. Work for which bribes were paid, concerned 39% property
registration, 25% mutation, 12% land survey and 4% obtaining property
documents.
A household survey in Nepal (TU 2003) concludes that the respondents
perceived land administration as the most corrupt sector, followed by the
custom department, police and judiciary. 6,6% of those who were taking
service from the land administration sector during 2002 pointed out that
they had faced corruption. Tehsilders (revenue officers) were found to be
the main actors of corruption in land administration, followed by land
surveyors.
In Pakistan (TI 2002b), 133 out of 1724 respondents recalled contacting
the land administration department and faced corruption. Main reasons to
contact the department were transfer of property (25%0, buying land (24% and
selling land (17%). Surveyors and tehsilders (revenue officers) appeared o
be the most involved.
A land revenue officer in Pakistan was accused to have misused his official
position and accumulating personal assets instead of facilitating land
transactions amongst members of the civil society. He got 5 years prison.
(Shahna, 2002)
A magistrate in Pakistan reported to be concerned that valuable state
property under the control of city council, was being used to the advantage
of the property grabbing mafia, while the city council getting a cut of its
ill-gotten gains (Daily Times, 2002)
Investigations demonstrate that the land administration sector is in the
top three sectors prone to corruption in Bangladesh (rank 3), India (rank
3), Pakistan (rank 1), and Sri Lanka (rank 3).(TI, 2002c)
In Lithuania (UNDP, 2004) 34% of the residents believe land use planning
divisions are amongst the very corrupt institutions.
The Kenya Bribery Index 2001 and 2002 ranked the Ministry of Lands and
Settlement 4th and 13th..(TI, 2001a,2002a)
The Kenya Bribery Index 2005 (TI 2005c), shows that 65,7% of the people
visiting the Ministry of Lands might be asked for a bribe, 36,3% of
declinations resulted in service denial.
The Minster of Lands and Settlements of Kenya says that since
independence land has been used as a pay-back system for political
supporters, though limited to certain groups of people. Also he observes
that the state has large chunks of land for development and research that
were irregularly subdivided and sold. The coordinator of the Kenya Land
Alliance reports that all land registries, land boards, the land rent
collecting offices and the central registry in Nairobi are very prone to
corruption. Equally prone to corruption are the offices of the provincial
administration because they are in charge of the executive administration of
land within their administrative areas. Others include the survey offices,
and the land tribunal offices right from the chief, district officer to
heads of municipalities. All services offered in these offices are highly
prone to corruption, he said Also the management of trust lands, land which
is under the county council for the purpose of nomadic lifestyle and where
some leaders have grabbed lands on the river banks, is prone to corruption,
he said. (Adili, 2003)
Schools and other bodies that had their land grabbed, now have the
Governments permission to seize it back, even if they have to use force to
do so, and not waiting for the Land Tribunal (Daily Nation, 2005a) although
this order to seizure land without seeking court orders attracted angry
reactions such as from the Law Society of Kenya and the Catholic Church:
'the government should not act as a gangster and not respect the rule of
law…' (Daily Nation, 2005b).
Mwathane writes about a syndicate that prepares parallel titles for
registered and unregistered parcels: ‘approval letters could be designed,
survey records simulated, deed plan prepared, and title issued outside the
Government system. He presumed a heavy hand of insiders collaboration at
work (Daily Nation, 2006)
Business men and politicians related to the Goldenberg corruption case
were active in fraud cases with irregular transactions with real estate and
hotels in Nairobi (NRC, 2006a)
September 2005 president Kibaki from Kenya decided illegally to downgrade
Amboseli National Park from a park to a reserve and give it back to the
Masaai, in an attempt to buy votes for the new constitution (NG 2006).
Fr Gabriel Donan and three human rights activists were released from
Kenyan police custody. The four were protesting against land grabbing. The
Government has subsequently agreed to investigate how the land in question
was allocated to senior government officials. (Catholic, 2003)
A prominent cabinet minister has accused certain government officials of
facilitating the illicit titling of 4,000 acres of land in the Masaai Mara
Game Reserve in southwest Kenya. The minister told the press that Ministry
of Lands officials were stealing the land that belonged to the Masaai.
(Weekly, 2002)
The Ndungu Report (December 2004) gives full and detailed overview about
land and graft in Kenya. It talks about ‘unbridled plunder’ of urban, state
and ministerial lands, of settlement schemes and trust lands, and of
forestlands, national parks, game reserves, wetlands, riparian reserves and
protected areas, facilitated by the extensive complexity of professionals
(lawyers, surveyors, valuers, land registrars, etc.) (Southall, 2005)
Even the former American embassy was constructed on lands illegally
allocated under the track of the Southern By-pass of Nairobi (Mwathane,
2004)
The Institute of Surveyors of Kenya recommends re-engineering of land
administration processes with the aim of reducing the discretionary
authority of officials. Computerized and well administered land information
systems would help to ensuring transparency and accountability and cases of
missing files, double allocations and delayed transactions would be
eliminated. Professionals should be increasingly be reminded their ethical
responsibility (Makthimo, 2004)
Bribes to speed up cadastral procedures in the Prague’s land registry
urged to a radical change in the management of the office since October 2003
(Czech 2003).
The Malaysian minister of Lands Kasitah Gaddam was arrested for misusing
his position of chairman of the state lands body to approve the sales of
shares it held in plantations, holding 25% of the sales for himself (worth
10 million $). (Tapei, 2004)
In January 2003 in Uzbekistan the father of a large family committed
suicide, because for years he had been in conflict with the local
authorities; they had taken the land he cultivated for years because the
relatives of a prosecutor were interested in it. (ISHR, 2003)
A recent survey on corruption in Vietnam showed that land management tops
the list of ten fields accused of corruption. There are a multitude of land
corruption crimes committed, but the three most popular are (1) taking
advantage of state projects to appropriate land, share land, especially in
forestation, residential areas and resettlement programmes, (2) making
corrupt use of power to confer land for example leasing land plots of large
areas, favourable positions, low prices, quickly completing related
formalities and seeking profit through land conferring, especially for
investment purposes, and (3) authoritarian behaviour, asking for presents
and money while performing formalities related to land, such as land
allocation, land lease, land rights transfer, land use certificate granting,
land compensation and site clearance (Vietnam, 2005)
A reporter for the newspaper Matichon in Pichit in central Thailand was
found dead, shot in his car on 10 January (1998), after reportedly agreeing
to meet an unknown source. The reporter was known to have been investigating
land development corruption, and had reportedly rejected a bribe to halt his
reporting (WAN 1998)
Corruption was reported in a Local Aboriginal Land Council in Australia
registering false transfers of land in the Land Titles Office (ICAC, 2002)
An official in the Land Registry in Dublin (Ireland) has been suspended
and is facing 47 corruption charges for allegedly illegally receiving money
over a 2,5 year’s period for documents he sold to a Dublin-based law agent
(Irish Post, 2006).
In the '80 an employee involved in land registration in the Netherlands
(office Amsterdam) was fired and convicted because of discharging mortgages
in the land book against payment by land owners/debtors (not documented,
personal knowledge)
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime in Botswana is
investigating 73 cases of land corruption. The head of the Directorate
reported that the Directorate received 238 allegations relating to lands
that were allocated illegally, in the last ten years. (MMEGI, 2004)
A special rapporteur of UN on housing rights visiting Cambodia reports
main concerns about significant land grabbing which appears to be
exacerbating land disputes and skewed land ownership patterns to the
disadvantage of both the rural and urban poor; the land management system in
place has been unable to address this situation as a combined result of (1)
the absence of land records, (2) an underdeveloped and non-transparent land
registration system, (3) the absence of cadastral index maps, (4) inadequate
land laws and procedures, and (5) unclear delineation of state land and (6)
the weakness of the justice system. Furthermore the rapporteur observed a
considerable number of forced evictions cases often with violence, a growing
number of evictions ordered by courts without sufficient investigation
concerning the legality and legitimacy of the relevant land titles, and a
great number of land ‘swaps’ taking place all over the country, which
transactions may be illegal and have been carried out with lack of
transparency and public participation (UN, 2005)
Insecurity of tenure contributed to land grabbing, often by soldiers or
companies with connections to local officials. Legal Aid of Cambodia
represented more than 8 thousand families, or about 43 thousand people, in
land cases most of which involved military and local officials. In a
significant case that was first brought to court in March 2001, indigenous
villagers in Ratanakiri province launched a legal appeal against a military
general who fraudulently obtained title to their ancestral lands, putting
some 9 hundred villagers at the risk of landlessness (UNCHR, 2003)
President Kikwete (Tanzania) said that he would sack officers if
discovered that they allocated land to more than one person. Speaking when
he visited the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the names of the
officers who double allocated the land would be forwarded to the Prevention
of Corruption Bureau for legal action (Guardian, 2006a).
In Georgia, 0.5% of all corruption regards the registration of property
ownership (WDI, 1999).
In Russia it is estimated that annually 36 billion $ is paid for bribes,
of which 11 billion to government officials to acquire permits (NRC, 2002)
One of the slogans in the first anti-corruption campaign in Mozambique
was ‘don’t pay high administration costs asked for by land officers for the
registration of land property’ (IS 2004)
In Ghana, struggle for land and the role of the chiefs is related.
Although according to customary law the chief should administer the land in
the interest of the community, in approximately 65% of case studies the
chief himself is the main beneficiary of land sales, giving rise to much
local resistance. (Ubbink, 2004)
China’s Ministry of Lands and Resources announced new measures to crack
down on corruption and inefficiency in the land sector. The new rules forbid
officials to receive personal benefits form parties under their
administration. It is estimated that in 2003 the country faced 168,000
violations of its Land Law (China Daily, 2004)
Complaints about corruption in the land and mining sector have increased in
recent years, which mainly focused on the illegal approval of using farmland
for construction and the rights of mining mineral resources at very low
price or even free of charge (People’s Daily, 2005).
A former minister of land and resources was expelled from the Communist
Party of China Central Committee and deprived of Party membership on
corruption charges. The minister took bribes of about 600,000 $ for misusing
his powers (China Daily, 2006).
The Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao has warned that the rampant seizure
of farmlands for development is threatening social stability amid a rising
wave of violent protests in the countryside. There are more than 230
demonstrations every day. With urbanization growing fast, about 6,7 million
hectares of land were converted into roads, factories, and residential
areas, creating problems of food self-sufficiency and left millions of
farmers homeless. Because the state or village collectives own the land,
farmers have only fixed term usage rights and minimal legal protection. When
land is seized it is often done without compensation. As there is no
independent court system, it is usually impossible to seek legal redress so
farmers have little choice but to protest. Disputes over land have emerged
alongside –often related- issues of pollution and corruption. The minister
said there were 87,000 protests last year (Guardian, 2006b)
Transforming China’s countryside into a model of rural development will
require more than rhetoric and billions of dollars. Implacable, deep-seated,
corruption lies at the heart of peasants; complaints about local officials
who enrich themselves by taking their land and poisoning their environment.
More than 40 million farmers have been displaced from their land and the
number is increasing by more than 2 million a year. Land-less farmers are
now among the poorest people in the country. (Asian Times, 2006)
4. ANALYSIS OF CORRUPTION IN LAND ADMINISTRATION
The wide variety of forms of corruption appears to exist in the land
sector as in any other sector, for example:
- Bribery (abuse of discretion because of payments by third parties).
It appears that registration of property rights, registration of change
of title, acquiring land information, cadastral land survey and land use
planning are subject of corruption (in Chapter 3 reported from Bangla
Desh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Lithuania, Kenya, Czech Republic, Vietnam,
Ireland, the Netherlands, Georgia, Russia, Mozambique and China)
- Fraud (abuse of discretion for personal gain without third part
involvement). It appears that sales of land and dealing in shares of
plantations etc. are not free from corruption (in Chapter 3 reported
from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, Cambodia, Tanzania, Ghana
and China)
- Nepotism, Favouritism, Clientelism (abuse of discretion for benefit
of family, friends etc.) . It appears that issuing such property rights
to land that belong to others (also the State) is subject of corruption
(in Chapter 3 reported from Kenya, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Botswana,
Cambodia and China)
We are aware that our way of desk research may suggest that the mentioned
countries are the only ones dealing with corruption. Of course this is not
the case. It is just a matter which reports and cases are published in the
free press. Our Chapter 2 aims at making clear that no country is exempted
from corruption.
Anyhow, is it obvious that the sector of land administration and land
management is subject to corruption in all its forms; the exact reach and
precise nature are difficult to estimate.
5. HOW TO CURB LAND CORRUPTION IN LAND ADMINISTRATION
Transparency is widely recognised as a core principle of good governance:
transparency means ‘sharing information and acting in an open manner’, ‘it
allows stakeholders to gather information that may be critical to uncovering
abuses…’ (UN/Habitat 2004). The toolkit developed by UN/Habitat and TI
ranges from assessment and monitoring tools, improved access to information
and public participation, promotion of ethics, professionalism and
integrity, towards increased transparency through institutional reforms. The
World Ethics Forum urges for increase of emphasis on ethical leadership and
public integrity (UNU, 2006). OECD asks attention for public service as a
public trust, for which public service ethics are a prerequisite (OEDC,
2000).
A brief summary of recommendations included in many reports and
news-items form a sort of long list of options for measures to curb land
corruption.
What the Chinese rural population need, is a legal framework that protect
their interests. Since there is no law in China that prevents farmland from
being taken for e.g. industrial purposes, and also no legal guarantee of
fair compensation for farmers, it is far too easy for local officials to
grab land and at the same time strike lucrative deals for themselves with
developers; the fact that land remains collectively owned in China also
works against farmers. Critics say that the real test of the government’s
commitment to helping the rural poor lies in Beijing’s willingness to go a
step further and allow privatization of farmland. At present farmers can
only lease land for 25-30 years (Asian Times, 2006)
Also the system of public bidding for the rights of land use and mining
should be further improved to make the market more transparent (People’s
Daily, 2005)
New measures of the Chinese Ministry of Lands and Resources comprise that
land officials must publish specific standards and procedures on the use and
rights of pieces of land and mineral resources, under enhanced supervision.
The measures also ban officials from designating intermediary agencies –some
of which included where even family members- for land and mineral
development projects. The right to designate is revoked. (China Daily,
2004).
Names of officers in Tanzania who double allocate land parcels will be
forwarded to the Prevention of Corruption Bureau (Guardian, 2006a).
The UN expert on housing rights, visiting Cambodia, recommends (inter
alia) (1) the preparation of a land use plan that clearly identifies the
different types of state land and the respective authorities in charge of
its management, (2) strengthen public participation, (3) strengthen the
monitoring of illegal land sales, (4) announcement of a moratorium on land
‘swaps’ and land concessions, (5) declare a moratorium on land sales
affecting indigenous people, (6) ensure accountability by disclosing a list
of all illegal land ‘swaps’ that have or are being negotiated by local
authorities, (7) effectively enforce the 2001 Land Law (UN, 2005)
In Vietnam the first thing to do is abolish or amend land related legal
documents to cover the gaps that corruptors can use to seek benefit.
Supervision should be strengthened, especially inspection and sternly punish
violators, policies and laws on land are not competent and have many
loopholes, the enforcement of the law is not very strict, the state sets
prices much lower than the market price, too loose management of land. (
Vietnam Net Bridge, 2005)
To avoid illegal payments to land officers to provide titles more quickly
than the ‘months and years’ it takes in the Prague land registry (Czech
republic), it is suggested to create an ‘express handling fee’ the chairman
of the Czech Office for Land Survey and Registry states that it would be
difficult to direct these fees back to the organization because they would
be treated as treasury income and not as income for the office (Czech,
2003).
The household survey in Bangladesh recommends (1) better political will,
(2) setting up an anti-corruption commission, (3) setting up a special
judicial branch, (4) free flow of information, (5) appointment of a sector
-wise ombudsman, (6) policy and institutional reforms, (7) social movement
against corruption, (8) freely functioning media, (9) inclusion of
corruption issue in the curriculum in schools. (TI, 2005a).
The Ndungu Report in Kenya recommends (1) inventory of public lands, (2)
computerization of land records, (3) comprehensive land policy, (4) the
creation of a Land Title Tribunal in charge with reviewing each and every
case of suspected illegal of irregular allocation of land, and (5) embarking
upon a process of revocation and rectification of such titles (Southall,
2005).
Furthermore the Minister of Lands placed a sign ‘corruption free zone’ at
the entrance of the ministry, and at all lifts and corridors to enhance
awareness amongst officials, there will be better access to services and the
cash office will be open over lunch time.
Also he opened a complaints center. Moreover he urges for harmonization of
land related laws, embedded in a new national land policy. Computerization
will be introduced to enhance efficiency, for instance in tracking the
transaction process. The other thing is access to information and who is in
charge of the information. This will reduce bureaucracy and rent seeking
opportunities, which cause corruption (Adili, 2003).
In Mozambique the role of northern donors is considered as promoting
corruption, being under pressure to increase aid to meet international
targets, proving the viability of neo-liberal agendas, or justifying
existing levels of aid to conservative governments, and having to showcase
development success stories (Hanlon, 2004).
In Zambia, analysis of the land delivery process lead to numerous (27!)
recommendations to curb ‘white collar malpractices’ by redesigning work
processes, redefining roles of officials and openness (Mwamza, 2004).
Computerization of land records under the project ‘Bhoomi’ in Karnataka,
India, proves to increase efficiency, shorten delay and curb corruption.
(New Indian Press, 2001)
This is in line with the recommendations of the (TI, 2005b) that suggests
(1) use of technology, (2) reducing the role of the ‘deed writer’, (3)
re-forming stamp paper, (4) improvement of public dealing, (5) citizen’s
charter, (6) independent complaint redressal cell (TI, 2005b). The report
describes the situation prior and after ‘Bhoomi’ confirming the above
mentioned result of the project.
Based on the India Corruption Survey 2005, the Centre for Media Studies
recommends inter alia (1) simplify the procedures, (2) create user
committees, (3) outsource certain services, (4) create transparency through
access to information, (5) use of technology, (6) public hearings, (7)
separate regulation and service functions, (8) customer satisfaction surveys
(Tahiliani, 2005)
The free media, civil society, and the private sector are necessary
partners of a government in curbing corruption (IS, 2001), although the anti
corruption TV program ’60 minutes Georgia’ demonstrates that being informed
as such does not automatically lead to better governance (IS, 2003)
Utstein recommends anti corruption measures in the land sector comprising
(1) integrity pacts, (2) dedicated agencies, (3) holistic approach to
tackling corruption, (3a) legal measures, (3b) capacity building, (3c)
mobilizing civil society, (3d) mobilizing the private sector (Utstein, 2006)
The Corruption in South Asia report 2002 recommends (1) institutionalize
user surveys in order to enhance the influence of public feed back to the
policy environment, (2) strengthen accountability in order to close the
‘accountability vacuum’, (3) set norms and standards in order to make
officials accountable for the service delivered, and (4) enhance citizen
participation in governance in order to mobilize the role of civil society
as a force for improvement of services (TI, 2002c)
If we summarize these scattered ‘real life’ recommendations, the
following elements might play a role in curbing corruption in the land
sector.
- Sound legal framework for protection of property rights (reported
from China and Kenya)
- Clear definition of land tenure (reported from China)
- Enforcement of the law (reported from Vietnam)
- Open bidding on land (reported from China)
- Standardized procedures for land dealings and supervision (reported
from China Vietnam, Zambia, India and South Africa)
- Investigations by Anti Corruption Bureau (reported from Tanzania)
- Preparation of land use plans (reported from Cambodia)
- Monitoring illegal land sales (reported from Cambodia and Kenya)
- Disclosure of illegal land swaps (reported from Cambodia and Kenya)
- Fee structure for services which prevents bribery (reported from
Czech Republic)
- Free flow of information (reported from Bangladesh, Kenya and
Georgia)
- Corruption issues in school curriculum (reported from Bangladesh)
- Inventory of public lands (reported from Kenya)
- Computerization of land record (reported from Kenya and India)
- Creation Land Titles Tribunal (reported from Kenya)
Based on these real life proposals, the Land Administration Guidelines
(UN 1996), and the Transparency Toolkit (UN/Habitat 2004) we categorize the
potential measures against corruption in the land sector as follows.
- Creation of inventory of existing land tenure (‘cadastre’):
- no ownership possible without being recorded, to prevent land
grabbing
- Open access to information about ownership, value and use of land
- open for public inspection, to monitor illegal land sales
- limited personal privacy protection, to prevent to hide illegal
interests
- Standardized procedures for determination, recording and
dissemination of information
- no change in inventory without source document that justifies the
change of title
- application, deed, other document), to prevent illegal land
transactions
- limited discretionary competences, to prevent concentration of
powers
- Supervision and possibility of appeal
- independent audits, to monitor illegal operations
- working with witnesses
- special Land Tribunals to avoid normal courts to be clogged up
- Computerization
- dealing with large amounts of data cannot do without
- give people direct access to services
- better monitoring of progress processes
The proposals of TI and UN are very suitable to be met by the land
sector, as possession of land is visible to anyone, land cannot be hidden,
and making an inventory of land tenure (a 'cadastre') already contributes a
lot to openness, transparency and availability of information (the
fundamental meaning of the 'old' principles of land registers and cadastres
of 'publicity' and 'specialty' has always been the provision of transparency
in the land market….).
6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Combating corruption in the land sector, most likely cannot be successful
as an isolated action. Is should be part of a national integrity system as
proposed by Transparency International (TI, 2001), as various general
national anti-corruption measures directly might be applicable at the land
sector such as:
- Complaints and ombudsman office
- Independent audit function
- Independent anti corruption agencies
- Disclosure of income and assets
- Ethics training
For the land sector some specific measures might apply
- Land information should be available (create sort of ‘cadastre’)
- Guaranteed open access to all information (general interest priority
over private interest)
- Accountable process management (e.g. no change in register or map
without a legally valid source document)
- Land Tribunal (to enhance efficiency judiciary)
- Computerization otherwise no efficient data-handling
REFERENCES
- Adili, 2003, ‘Cleaning up the mess at Lands?’, Issue 40 July 14 2003
- Asian Times, 2006, ‘China goes back to the land’, Asian Times Online
9 March 2006
- Catholic News, 2003, ‘Priest and fellow activists arrested in
Kenya’, 11 November 2003
- China Daily, 2004, ‘New rules tackle corruption, malpractice’, China
Daily 4 February 2004
- China Daily, 2006, ‘Corrupt land minister expelled from CPC
(Xinhua), China Daily 14 February 2006
- Czech, 2003, Cutting down cadastre corruption, Czech and Slovak
Construction Issue 3 Year 2003
- CSR, 2001, NL-Country Study Report National Integrity Systems by
Huberts, part of a comparative study Global Forum II of TI, 2001
- Daily Times, 2002, ‘Corruption, land grabbing rampant in
Gujranwala’, Daily Times Pakistan 11 November 2002
- Daily Nation, 2005a, 'Take back grabbed land, orders state' (Mburu
Mwangi), 7 February 2005
- Daily Nation, 2005b, 'Land order will lead to anarchy, government
warned' (by Sunday Nation team), 7 March 2005
- Daily Nation, 2006, ‘Land officials must shape up or get out’ (by
I.N. Mwanthane), 18 May 2006
Eicholz, P., 2006, Een AFM voor de
vastgoedmarkt ('A Supervising Authority for the Real Estate Market'),
Justitiële Verkenningen 2/06 WODC
- Elsevier, 2006, 'A much more pessimistic view, poll bureau de Hond
reveals that citizens believe corruption is larger than official
investigation shows', Elsevier Magazine website accessed 26 June 2006
- Guardian, 2006a, ‘Kikwete: corrupt land officers must go’, Guardian
18 January 2006
- Guardian, 2006b, ’Land seizures threaten social stability’, Guardian
21 January 2006
- Hanlon, J., 2004, How Northern Donors promote corruption, The Corner
House October 2004
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Nederlandse Openbaar Bestuur, omvang, aard en afdoening ('Public
corruption in the Netherlands'), Free University of Amsterdam Research
Group Integrity of the Public Administration
- ICAC, 2002, Findings of corrupt conduct, Independent Commission
Against Corruption 2002
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charges’, Irish Post 8 February 2006
- IS, 2001, ‘Without free media one remains sitting in the dark,
Internationale Samenwerking July/August 2001
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2003
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Samenwerking July/August 2004
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Human Rights
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Weekly Magazine Vol 21 No 102 News 5 July 2004
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Land and Property Digest No 2 March 2004
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and their effects on secure land tenure and sustainable development, FIG
Article of the Month April 2004
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reclaiming land reserved for bypass and link roads, The Land and
Property Digest No 2 March 2004
- National Geographic, 2006, Politics consumes a park, February 2006 p
30-31
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will soon be history’, New Indian Press 14 June 2001
- NRC, 2002,’Corruption breeds hatred by Russians’, NRC News 4 June
2002
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- OECD, 2000, Building Public Trust; ethics measures in OECD
countries, PUMA Policy Brief No 7 (September 2000)
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market’, China People’s Daily 14 March 2005
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- Southall, 2005, The Ndungu Report: Land and Graft in Kenya, Review
of African Political Economy, 103 March 2005 pp 142-151
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charges, 13 February 2004
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Kenya
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Berlin
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Transparency International Pakistan, March 2002
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December 2002
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Bangladesh April 2005
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India August 2005
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Kenya.
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Update March 2006
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Vietnam Net Bridge 13 December 2005
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January 1998
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Reserve’, Weekly Indigenous News 20 June 2002
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Paul van der Molen (56) has a degree in geodesy from Delft University of
Technology (NL). He is currently a director of the Netherlands Cadastre,
Land Registry and Mapping Agency, responsible for Kadaster International. He
is a professor at the International Institute for Geo-information Science
and Earth Observation ITC in Enschede (NL). He acts as a chair of FIG
Commission 7 and as a director of the FIG International Bureau of Land
Records and Cadastre OICRF.
Dr. Arbind Man Tuladhar is assistant professor of Land Administration and
Geo-Information Science at the department of Urban and Regional Planning and
Geo-Information Management, International Institute for Geo-Information
Science and Earth Observation (ITC), the Netherlands. His current research
interests focus on land tenure, land management/ administration, cadastral
systems, system modelling and development including 3D modelling, and
spatial data infrastructure.
CONTACTS
Paul van der Molen
Head of Kadaster International
Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency
P.O. Box 9046
7300 GH Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Tel. +31 (055) 528 56 30
Fax +31 (055) 355 73 62
http://www.kadaster.nl/international-english/default.html
International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation
ITC, professor cadastre and land administration, director School for Land
Administration Studies
http://www.itc.nl
International Federation of Surveyors FIG
Vice President
http://www.fig.net
Arbind Man Tuladhar
International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation
PO Box 6
7500 AA Enschede
NETHERLANDS
tel. +31-53-4874444
fax +31-53-4874400
E-mail: molen@itc.nl
E-mail: tuladhar@itc.nl
web: www.itc.nl
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