Notwithstanding the poverty alleviation objectives of the land policy and its emphasis towards protection of family sector land holdings and the encouragement of partnerships, in reality there has been an emphasis on the part of the state and FRELIMO towards the unfettered privatisation of land and a bias against the family sector. This bias was evident in the formulation of policy (the open/closed border debate) and continues to prevail in the implementation of the law.
There is a perception that the family sector does not have the resources to expand production potential and to significantly contribute to the economy. There is also a perception that the strengthening of security of tenure of rural communities will ‘scare off’ investors and that the community consultation for the approval of land concessions, as required by law, causes unnecessary delays in the approval of concessions. Government emphasis at the moment is on the speedy processing of land concession applications and the collection of taxes. There are increasing moves towards the full privatisation of land holdings, as evidenced by statements emanating from the Ministry during the latter part of 2001.
To some extent the lack of an implementation strategy and institutional support at provincial and district level reflects this bias and lack of will to implement certain aspects of the law, specifically the community delimitations and community consultations for the approval of land concessions.
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