Economic and Social Development – 1995
1995
The forward momentum in land reform programs created at the end of 1994 was curbed in January 1995, due in large part to personnel turnover in the Lands Bank. As of March 1995, approximately 45% of former combatants eligible for land-transfers had in fact received legal ownership of land. The Government was operating at a pace far too slow to meet the 30 April 1995 deadline for completion of the Acceleration Plan. The delays in land transfer programs, and especially delays in dealing with the relocation of human settlements, was becoming an increasing source of contention. Absent decisive involvement of the Government, lawful landowners and de facto landholders were repeatedly pitted against one another, and confrontations between them threatened to have a broad impact on the Peace Agreement.1 Problems persisted into late 1995. The Government stepped up efforts to get land titles to potential beneficiaries, and indeed the proportion rose to 75% in September, but then it was discovered that only 25% of these had filed with the land registry—a step which was necessary for the title holders to sell the land and complete the transfer process.2