Land issues need careful handling
Mmegi Editor | Wednesday July 12, 2017 11:19
The Bill that was presented last week by the Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services seeks to among others, prevent fraudulent transfer of property ownership by married couples. It also seeks to empower spouses whose partners have died but have not registered them as rightful owners or inheritants of their property.
The Bill comes at a time when the country registers an average of 1,500 divorces annually and the rate continues to grow. Although there is no proper research on this matter, some marriages last for only three years before the other spouse is married again one or two years later.
Divorce cases are presided over by High Court judges, whilst land disputes in rural areas are first handled by local authorities (Dikgosi) before they can be passed to the High Court when there is no solution. Dikgosi also find themselves having to resolve hereditary disputes that may be complex to High Court judges especially that they involve family lineage that can best be understood by relatives.
In some instances, Dikgosi would be in a better position to appreciate a family created under traditional marriage or the one borne out of cohabitation. All these aforementioned types of unions or marriages are ‘allowed’ in our culture and can better be handled by traditional leaders. Therefore, there is need for proper consultation before this law is passed.
The Bill further seeks to review transfer of ownership under the customary land grant to compel married couples to state the names of their spouses in the land issue certificate when they are married in community of property. While it is a good development to enforce accountability and transparency in marriages, this also has potential to cause some people to remain single and in cohabitation in fear of losing too much in the event of divorce or death.
We live in a society where death of a family member is not easily accepted and there are always accusing fingers that blame another person for the unfortunate event. This practice is even worse when a family man dies under sudden circumstances such as road accidents, sudden illness, or even suicide. It is even worse when the deceased man was wealthy, or had been undergoing a rough time in his marriage.
The siblings and relatives of the deceased often find it difficult to accept their death and would blame the wife for the misfortune. It is crucial to consult further to include cultural practices in the envisaged law to ensure that the final law unites families instead of causing further divisions.
Today’s thought
“Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.”
– Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays