|
|
|
HIV/AIDS and its Impacts on Land Tenure and Livelihoods in Lesotho - Comments on Lesotho Country Study
|
|
|
4. Policy recommendations
|
The policy recommendations relating to the amelioration of the impact of aids on land tenure and livelihoods are somewhat sparse in the report. Most of the authors’ recommendations relate to policy aspects covering community support and welfare for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. If it is the case, which it may be, that there are few useful land-related proposals emerging from the study, this is an important finding and should be clearly stated.
They are principally three recommendations:
- Land administrators should be fully informed about the epidemic and various legislations that govern the rights of the affected households. This will help to ensure uniform implementation of measures to support affected households.
- The importance of land to communities calls for concerted efforts to make the public aware of current Land Acts and proposed changes to land policy. Particular attention should be paid to provisions likely to affect households affected by HIV/AIDS. Provisions likely to have negative impacts should be removed or reformulated and those likely to have positive impacts should be strengthened. This should include a review of the likely impacts of the present trend towards concentration and commercialisation of land holding and agriculture on HIV/AIDS affected households and suitable action to secure their livelihoods.
- Mechanisms already being used by communities to make land policies suit their present circumstances should be examined and where possible adopted in current or proposed land policy and legislation. This should include mechanisms to ensure that sharecropping can continue to support the food security of affected households.
These recommendations need to be taken seriously by Government. Land policy development could be at a critical stage in Lesotho. The release of the draft White Paper on Lesotho’s National Land Policy has yet to be approved by Cabinet. It is not clear whether it is on the priority list for action or on the back burner. The impact of HIV/AIDS on land tenure and rural livelihoods was ignored in the LPRC document and probably given inadequate attention in the draft White Paper.
|
|
Related documents