Land issues activists are lobbying parliament to amend laws so that most indigenous Malawian own land.

Land Justice Consortium (LJC) says in a statement that it has asked members of parliament to remove freehold land ownership and adopt leasehold estates or make it exclusive entitlement for indigenous Malawians.

The consortium says in line with the proposed land bill set to be tabled during the current sitting of parliament, there should be creation of customary land estate which will be held by indigenous Malawians in perpetuity.

“Registration of customary land into customary estate will ensure security of land tenure. Government must ensure that all idle land is made available and accessible to all landless indigenous,” reads the statement in part.

The consortium’s demand follows reports of rampant corruption in the land sector and the fact that the prime land in the country’s cities and urban areas is owned by foreigners particularly Asians.

“We are aware that some elements are working day and night with the oppressors to discredit the forthcoming land bills amendments currently in circulation. The consortium is also mindful of how the invisible hand managed to deny Malawians a chance to reclaim their ancestral inheritance by taking away sections 9 sub section 2 and 3 in the then land bill of 2016.

“Meanwhile, we are appealing to Members of Parliament to bear in mind that land issues in Malawi have reached crisis levels that require urgent attention, and the time for action is now,” reads the statement.

The present land law and policy in Malawi is traced back to the formal declarations of British authority over Central Africa by the British Orders in Council of 1889, 1892 and 1893.

The LJC currently comprises organizations and individual activists such as Land Governance Alliance (LAGA), Economic Freedom Fighters Movement (EFFM), Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), Peoples Federation for National Peace and Development (PEFENAP), Mzuzu Youth Caucus, Emmanuel Mlaka, a land governance expert and faith leader and Sylvester Namiwa, a social and human rights activist.