Recognition of the right of the poor to land is vital to forestall future conflicts over ownership and access to productive assets in post-war Angola. There is concern that the 2004 Land Law potentially weakens small holders’ and peri-urban occupants’ tenure rights, the majority of whom do not have formal, and/or legal, land titles, in favour of those with privileged access to registered land titles.

For the urban poor, most of whom have fled to the city during conflict years, the acquisition of a housing plot and subsequent construction of a residence is the only means of wealth accumulation and a principal crisis-coping mechanism. The population of Luanda has grown eight fold since independence and most of the settlement and housing plot acquisition has been through the informal land market. Three quarters of the residents of the peri-urban districts of Luanda have no clear legal title to the land that they occupy.

Development Workshop has taken a lead in research and advocacy on land tenure issues and helped to found the Rede de Terra (or the Land Network), a grouping of civil society organisations created to facilitate discussion among communities on ideas and concerns around the land issue. DW has engaged the Government on land tenure policy reform and is building municipal capacity in local land management and titling.