At a forum in Agoènyivé, Togo, organised by the land governance platform of the International Land Coalition (ILC) from 23-25 June, civil society organisations, representatives from the government, traditional chiefs, and land actors reaffirmed their commitment towards the implementation of the land code in support of land reform
Three years later, our land governance platform in Togo is building the capacity of its members to devise participatory and inclusive actions to help implement the land code thus, supporting the land reform process.
Convinced that sharing experiences and learning from different stakeholders could contribute to the government’s efforts in the land reform process for the advancement of land governance, our member, the Autopromotion rural pour un Developpement Humain Durable (ADHD), organised a forum themed: "Towards people-centred land governance in Togo: Time for action".
During the forum, ILC Africa Regional Coordinator Audace Kubwimana, admitted the best is yet to come and advised the represented parties in attendance to "appreciate the progress made in land reform, exchange and decide on the actions to support this process in Togo."
Affirming to the actions and implementations that Togo should take to achieve and realise land governance, Dr. Komla EDOH, Director in the Ministry of Urbanism, Housing and Land Reform in Togo said that inclusive, participatory, and coordinated integrated land use planning processes on the national development agenda will help accomplish their ultimate expected results. "We still have a long way to go,” he said.
Asked how the forum has been of success, Frédéric Komla Djinadja, Facilitator of the land governance platform in Togo (NES Togo) smiled, looked keenly and said, “I am happy that each actor present promised to be more active in adopting a new charter for the land governance platform and establish new structures of land governance.”
At the three-day forum, participants commended the government's efforts in the participatory elaboration and promulgation of Law 2018-005 on the Land and Property Code of the Togolese Republic and reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the code.
The Civil Society Land Forum, the third to happen since inception in June 2016, was held to reflect on the best actions to spearhead the agenda of people-centred land governance.
In 2018, Togo adopted the new land and State property code to help curb land-related conflicts.
