Raising time limit of land tenure titles in Dodoma

. This is a radical uplift from the 33 year lifespan of those titles and this has a bearing with express intentions of changing the lifespan of title deeds, namely to enable holders of those titles to enter into agreements with foreign investors in particular. It is an effort to solve collateral bottlenecks in bank lending, as 33-year leases are clumsy.

It is evident that this will enable action by foreign companies planning for medium and long-term investments in the newly developed investment zone since the capital is shifting there and the market shall be growing by leaps and bounds. The point however remains only partial when it applies to a single individual entering into accords or contracts with an investor, as it enables medium and long term investment plans, but some areas of discord might linger on. First, the revision of occupancy right title lifespan (often treated as ownership title) lasts all that period.

It is unclear what specific rights or limitations are stipulated for the holders of those titles who have obtained an extended lifespan that now approximates freehold land. With the necessary regulatory conditions it could perhaps be so treated by the banks, and this is where the shoe might still prick, instead of having a nirvana of land aspect contracting with foreign investors on the basis of a vastly extended occupancy title framework. The other side is the right to contract with a foreign investor, if it only relates to the land, or to transfer of such title to an investor or in tandem with a local investor who might not be the proper titleholder.

As this measure applies to the zone earlier supervised by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and now falls under the Dodoma municipal council, it would follow that a special land rights zone has been created for the municipality. While that might be related to the need to attract investments into the municipality and thus enhance land take up and construction of housing and commercial space as in Dar es Salaam, wider issues arise. Is it going to be a Dodoma-specific measure or is it an illustration of what needs to be done for occupancy titles in the country?

If investors were asked that question they would certainly prefer that the new land title regime be generalised for other areas. If title deed holders were asked the matter, they would probably prefer to be able to not just contract on the land, but also on the occupancy right itself. If the regulation prevents this it may halt uptake.

There is a precedent in that direction in the sale of government quarters during the third phase government where the current holder of top office was sector minister in the area, and this has helped bring about the change now being implemented in Dodoma municipality. A regulatory fiat was instituted that the land or houses or plots where they are built, that they could not be sold but after a span of 25 years, which could ipso facto be said to apply in this case. The title deeds can’t in that sense be transferred from one person to another but land could still be contracted. In that case it is a mathematical proposition as to what a local investor can pay a landholder so as to enter into a pact with a foreign investor, on that person’s land.