Masterclass on Land Governance and Corruption

Following the launch of the NELGA regional centre in Southern Africa on 19 February 2018, a masterclass themed “Land Governance and Corruption link” was successfully delivered on 20 – 22 February 2018 by the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). The masterclass was conducted in collaboration with the University of Cape Town (UCT).

The purpose of the masterclass was to bring together industry professionals, researchers and academics from various higher education institutions within Southern Africa, to interrogate the issues of land governance and corruption within the region. The masterclass was highly interactive and brought out issues of commonality and best practice in the countries represented. In attendance were 20 professionals from different institutions within Southern Africa including: Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Overall, the masterclass participants agreed that the issue of corruption is one that requires the involvement of various stakeholders, professionals and academics included, to fight it in the land sector. Further, the participants highlighted the need to understand the intricacies of corruption both in rural and urban areas, which has negative effects on the poor.

Learning by doing: Tour to Okahandja Park

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The masterclass was finalised with a tour of Okahandja Park, an informal settlement in Windhoek on the 22nd February 2018. The tour was facilitated by the Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG) in collaboration with the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN). The purpose of the tour was to understand some of the urban challenges facing the city from the members of SDFN (predominantly women) who call Okahandja Park their home and what measures they are taking to improve their tenure security and standard of living through innovative approaches.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the masterclass because of the ample time to share country experiences but also because the course can be easily adapted and replicated in my country”.

Workshop participant