Systematic Land Regularisation & Land Allocation Project – Design Phase

Project Narrative

This project supported the piloting of regularisation and settlement (urban) planning of informal settlements in urban and peri-urban areas, beginning in Maseru. The project assisted Community Councils to improve their records of rural land allocations. It also supported the training of Community Councils and traditional authorities on the land allocation process.

These efforts were part of the process of developing complete and accurate land records for maintenance by the new Land Administration Authority (LAA).

Key services provided

• Developed area selection criteria and conducted situational analyses for urban land regularization of 5,000 parcels.
• Developed appropriate policies, plans and procedures for urban/peri-urban resettlement.
• Reviewed the legal framework and developed appropriate methodology for rights adjudication and cadastral surveying using orthophotos to assist boundary demarcation and unique parcel identification prior to integration in a digital data base management system and the Lesotho Land Information System.
• Field work based on village-level consultation.
• Supported capacity through comprehensive training programs and preparation of guidelines and instructions for rights adjudication, regularization, cadastral surveying and digital information systems.
• Rural land allocation activities in four pilot areas developed formal procedures for organising Community Councils to maintain the information held in the Land Allocation Register, as well as improving and testing the process for inventory and recording of rural land allocations in four pilot areas.
• A legal program of public outreach and awareness, and legal aid was piloted and developed a strategic program and training manuals for legal aid providers.