Traditional land title deeds may serve for loan collateral

Goodluck Ole Madeye, Deputy minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements

The government is asking financial institutions in Tanzania to accept traditional land title certificates as collateral in loan acquisitions because they are legal documents.

Deputy minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements, Goodluck Ole Madeye, said although they do not have long life spans, financial institutions must recognise traditional land title certificates as legal documents.


He was responding to a supplementary question by Rita Kabati (CCM) Special seat who wanted to know plans by the government to help those in possession of such documents most of whom are rural dwellers and whom financial institutions shun.

Different but related, Zarina Madabida, Special Seat (CCM) earlier wanted to know measures taken to address the sale and development of land plots which has been causing land conflicts across the country. 

More specifically, she called for joint agreements between the government and land owners when land is been sold.

In response, deputy minister said, the government‘s efforts to empower rural populations in respect to land use is as per the policy issued for the purpose.
“This is in line with the 2004 government policy on economic empowerment as stated clearly in paragraphs 4, 9, 2,” he explained.

“The main purpose of this policy is to allow poor people in the country to use their land as collateral to acquire loans from various financial institutions,” he said.

“To consolidate the government’s declaration on this policy,” he went on to explain noting that“…the 2010 policy on Public Private Partnership (PPP) No. 18 was formulated to legalise the establishment of joint ventures between private and public institutions.” 

However, he noted that, the government has not yet enacted a law or prepared a bill to protect indigenous land ownership in rural areas and still relies on the village land Act No 5 of 1999 to uphold the rights of Tanzanians living in rural areas.

He appealed to the general public irrespective of their status to respect procedures as directed by village government authorities when it comes to land ownership in order to avoid future potential conflicts.