Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

17 January 2024

Post No. 335

The Week’s Contents

• FACS, Issue No. 82, Winter 2023/2024: Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2024

• Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations in 2024 – a Year of Opportunities, Openings, Operations and Optimisms to Reduce Poverty

• New Year’s Structured Finance Activities/Micro-projects under Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme/Scheme

… And much more!

Key Messages

• FACS, Issue No. 82, Winter 2023/2024, Issue Title: Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2024

The key message of this New Year’s Issue of FACS, our bilingual newsletter, is that a good allocation of power on home and land to everybody, especially to the poor, can help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. Indeed, access to homeownership and control over land can achieve a lot of things for those living in poverty. They can help them to have a fixed place to plan and build their lives. Having a home and/or a secure land can be the first step to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

Yet, Africa is lagging behind in terms of homeownership and secure land tenure for its ordinary population. There are facts and data that explain this. For example, ‘statista.com’ (1) notes that

“At least 95 percent of urban households in over 17 of the countries in Africa were unable to buy the cheapest newly built house in 2021”.

Although the above-mentioned figure is for 2021, it is an indication of the state of homeownership in Africa. The figure includes the areas of operations of CENFACS‘ Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations (ASCOs); areas where there is a need to deal with the twin problems of low levels of homeownership and land tenure insecurity.

The 82nd Issue of FACS shades light on the right to securely own land or to occupy and exclusively use a particular piece of land. It focuses on the problems faced by CENFACS‘ ASCOs and their beneficiaries; beneficiaries who may be homeless, landless, poor home-owners and poor renters. CENFACS and ASCOs would like to work with them in order to reduce poverty and unsustainability linked to the lack of access to private homeownership and secure land tenure.

In this respect, the 82nd Issue examines the relationship between poverty reduction and homeownership, between poverty reduction and land tenure in today’s Africa, in particular in the areas where CENFACS‘ ASCOs operate. The Issue makes the case for the need to develop private homeownership and secure land tenure that benefit the poor.

Developing private homeownership and secure land tenure can empower people and give them more rights. It is not surprising if ‘unhabitat.org’ (2) argues that

“Secure land tenure and property rights enable people in urban and rural areas to invest in improved homes and livelihoods”.

Similarly, the International Fund for Agriculture Development (3) explains the following:

“Land is fundamental to the lives of poor rural people. It is a source of food, shelter, income and social identity… Tenure security is important not only for agriculture production. It also allows people to diversify their livelihoods by using their land as collateral, renting it out or selling it”.

The 82nd Issue considers the appropriate private property rights theories and land rights theories, particularly the evolutionary theory of land rights as suggested by Jean-Philippe Plateau (4). It approaches private homeownership as private property. Private property can be understood from the definition of ‘study.com’ (5) as

“Ownership of tangible or intangible property by an individual entity, rather than by the state or a common owner”.

The 82nd Issue is a story of ASCOs working with poor homeless and landless to find inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable settlements. From this perspective, the Issue provides some examples on how ASCOs are trying to work with their locals in order to reduce poverty due to the lack of homeownership and secure land tenure, and how the former are helping the latter to adequately, safely and affordably access and climb the property ladder and/or secure land tenure.

The 82nd Issue further clarifies how the lack of genuine property rights or their enforcement can conduce and constrain the economic development of certain ethnic groups and rural women. Beyond this explanation, the Issue provides some leads to the problems faced by these groups and women, particularly for groups located in the spheres of operation of ASCOs.

The 82nd Issue covers areas such as accessibility and affordability of homes to poor people, poor people as homeowners, women’s rights to own land especially in rural areas, residential mobility among low-income earners, sustainable housing for the poor, achieving sustainable homeownership for all, how ASCOs are working with their locals to reduce or end poverty linked to the lack of homeownership and land tenure, etc.

To find out more about 82nd Issue, please read under the Main Development section of this post the key summaries and highlights making it.

• Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisation in 2024 –

A Year of Opportunities, Openings, Operations and Optimisms to Reduce Poverty

Every year brings along with it challenges and opportunities. 2024 does not make any exception as it brings both challenges and opportunities. 2024 could be a year of challenges and opportunities for Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations (ASCOs).

ASCOs can do their own SWOT analysis to identify and determine the internal Strengths and Weaknesses of their organisations as well as the external Opportunities and Threats they may come across throughout 2024. They can as well conduct PEST analysis or assess the four external factors of this PEST analysis and find how these factors can affect their 2024 performance and activities. These well known PEST analysis factors are political, economic, social and technical.

By focusing on opportunities and openings from the SWOT analysis rather than on the other three elements of SWOT analysis, they can appraise their external environment and their presence in African markets of poverty reduction as well as formulate a strategy and develop their services to work with those in need in a new or improved direction.

They need to consider the four mentioned attributes of what could be 2024 for Africa, which are 2024 as a Year of Opportunities, Openings, Operations and Optimisms to Reduce Poverty. To explain these attributes, we have referred to a number of futurist and prospective studies and analyses, notably those from ‘chathamhouse.org’ (6) and ‘controlrisks.com’ (7), regarding their views on Africa. We have summarised or interpreted and included them in our own analysis as indicated by the following points.

• • 2024 as a Year of Opportunities and Openings

2024 as a year of opportunities and openings to reduce poverty means that there will be favourable or advantageous conditions for Africa to reduce poverty, and ASCOs can take advantage of those conditions. It is also a year of chance for them. What are those conditions and chances?

We have summarised and numbered below these opportunities and openings (OO) and the possible actions (PA) to be taken to grab them.

OO1: The International Monetary Fund (8) argues that Africa will be the second fastest-growing regional economy in the world at 4 per cent in 2024; and Sub-Saharan Africa will account for six of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies this year, with growth at 3.8% this year and 4.1% in 2025 as inflation eases.

PA1: ASCOs can campaign and advocate so the share of this economic growth can be distributed fairly to reach the poor or the community they serve.

OO2: There will be an increase food insecurity in Africa in 2024.

PA2: High food insecurity will provide an opportunity for ASCOs to advocate or campaign so that food reaches the poor and vulnerable of their communities.

OO3: According to the International Monetary Fund (op. cit.), nine African states are in debt distress and 19 countries at high risk of debt distress.

PA3: Debt distress means that ASCOs need to take this occasion to work with highly indebted poor households making their communities and who need guidance and advice to transition out of indebtedness.

OO4: 2024 could be a year of prolonged conflicts, poor rule of law, human rights abuses, discrimination, exclusion and unemployment.

PA4: ASCOs can start to plan to deal with all these problems should they happen.

OO5: 2024 could be a year of resurgence of resource nationalism in Africa.

PA5: Africa’s minerals are at the heart of the global energy transitions and if some African countries decide to renegotiate their contracts on natural resources or the terms of joint-venture agreements with foreign direct investors, ASCOs need to be prepared to advocate for the equal share of the dividends from these contract renegotiations and terms for the poor in terms of direct dividend transfers.

etc.

• • 2024 as a Year of Optimisms

2024 could be a year that Africa needs to take hopeful view of things that may happen and expect the best possible outcomes from these things. Among these things, we can mention below some Optimisms (O) together with Possible Actions(PA) to be taken.

O1: 2024 is the first full year of operation of upgraded Lobito Corridor in Angola.

PA1: ASCOs working in the area of transportation can assess the impact of this Corridor in terms of poverty reduction on their users, who may use it or be living along side of it; and generate projects.

O2: 2024 is another democratic transitions year.

PA2: Democratic transitions are unfinished business and still continue in Africa as at least 17 national and/or legislative polls will take place in Africa in 2024, and ASCOs need to be optimist in some cases that these polls will lead to substantive democracy, which will result in tangible poverty reduction results.

O3: 2024 is as well a year of deepening of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

PA3: Africa’s continental trade integration will achieve a milestone with the launch of Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS); and multinational ASCOs can help or use it to undertake cross-border payments while reducing transaction costs.

O4: 2024 will be a year of permanent seat at G20 (Group of 20).

PA4: African Union was granted a permanent seat at G20 implying from the poverty reduction that ASCOs need to realistically and optimistically assess how G20 can be relevant for their work with those in need and how this seat can help align and coordinate policies and views on the topics of poverty reduction across Africa and within the G20.

• • 2024 as a Year of Full Operations

2024 is also a year of recovery operations to reduce poverty in the post-pandemic and enduring cost-of-living eras. Although the economic recovery is slow and economic growth is low for a good recovery, many operations have continued to take ground or expand. Now that many of the activities and services have been curated across Africa following the lingering effects of the coronavirus disaster and the cost-of-living crisis, ASCOs can seize the momentum of the New Year to resume or increase the volume of their operations to a full functioning capacity.

The above possibilities show that Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations can cautiously grab the opportunities and openings of the 2024 year in order to operate and further up their poverty reduction work and regain the lost hard-won poverty reduction results; lost results because of economic crises, climate change and armed conflicts in Africa. Besides that, they need to be optimist, not pessimist about Africa and the people they serve.

For those optimist Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations wanting to fully operate and grab the above-mentioned opportunities and openings but finding some difficulties to operate; they can discuss the matter with CENFACS so that together we can plan a 2024 market development strategy.

Need a market development strategy or plan in order to fully operate and optimistically engage with the 2024 array of tremendous opportunities and openings to reduce and end poverty in Africa; please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

• New Year’s Structured Finance Activities/Micro-projects under Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme/Scheme

We are continuing Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme and Scheme, as planned. We are available to work in hybrid mode with users via the Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme (FCCBP) or Scheme (FCCBS) so that you can be stronger in this year. Both FCCBP and FCCBS will help beneficiaries to reduce risks linked to financial incapacity and incapability while improving their intergenerational income and transfers.

The second activities of FCCBP and FCCBS, which will be run from 17 to 23 January 2024, have been highlighted below.

• • 17 to 23 January 2024: Financially Managing Events (Activity 2 of FCCBP)

This second Structured Finance Activity, which is part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme and which is run as guidance sessions, consists of working with users to get the clues on how to financially manage events. It is about guiding users on a tactical, short-term and reactive process of making sure that their financial resources are used in most effective way possible with regard to events handling.

If any of our users need guidance about how to financially manage their events, they can ask CENFACS for answers.

• • 17 to 23 January 2024: Financially Planning Ahead (Activity 2 of FCCBS)

This second Structured Finance Activity, which is part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Scheme, is about strategically and proactively creating detailed budgets for a week or month or year (2024) while setting up goals and timelines to achieve them on a long-term basis.

If any of our users need to draw a plan or strategy that explains how they can financially plan ahead, they can contact CENFACS.

Have a question about how to financially manage your events or need to draw a financial plan or strategy about your household matters, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

In additions, if you have financial planning problems, you can communicate with CENFACS so that we can work together on your financial planning needs and help you stay stronger this New Year.

Extra Messages

• Gifts of Peace, Edition 2023-2024, Still Running

• Guidance Service on Non-essentials or Discretionary Expenses

• The Season of Giving Continues with SHOPPING and DONATIONS

• Gifts of Peace, Edition 2023-2024, Still Running

Our Season of Giving through the Gifts of Peace for Edition 2023-2024 has not yet finished. The Gifts-of-Peace Campaign will end on 31 January 2024. We still have almost 2 weeks to go until the end of this month. We are making a plea to those who have not yet managed to support to keep these gifts and our agenda for peace in their mind.

If you have not yet supported, you can still do something great for poverty relief and for healing the lingering economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the scars of the cost-of-living crisis.

Although the deadline for the Season of Donation for these gifts is 31 January 2024, we will still accept any donations made after this deadline to enable those who will not be in a position to donate by this deadline to have a chance to donate after.

Please do not wait for the expiration of the deadline as the needs are pressing and urgent.

We know that many supporters of good causes have been affected by the cost-of-living crisis. We are as well aware of the current economic situation of hard landing in boost after the high inflation period and economic growth is very low, which both complicate the way people donate to good causes.

However, for those who can please do not hesitate to support these noble and beautiful causes of peace since the potential beneficiaries of them are trebly impacted by:

a) The lingering economic effects of previous crises (like the coronavirus)

b) The already extremely poor conditions in which they are living

c) The scars of the enduring cost-of-living crisis.

Every support counts to help reduce and end extreme poverty.

Please keep the Gifts of Peace in your mind as the giving season continues.

For further details about these Gifts of Peace and or to support, go to http://cenfacs.org.uk/supporting-us/

We look forward to your support. Thank you!

• Guidance Service on Non-essentials or Discretionary Expenses

For those users who are looking for help and support about discretionary expenses, we can work with them so that they can navigate their way out non-essential consumption-based poverty. We can together explore the following options to deal with discretional or non-essential spending:

√ Improving their spending intent

√ Setting up cost cutting targets on budget items such as takeaways, eating out, clothing, etc.

√ Switching to cheap non-essential retailers to save money

√ Trimming budget

√ Prioritising expenses

√ Setting up a policy not to borrow money for non-essentials

√ Adopting cost-saving behaviour

√ Briefly, developing a strategy or policy to control non-essential spending.

The above-mentioned options or tools will help them to build confidence throughout 2024 and beyond.

To access this Guidance Service on Non-essentials or Discretionary Expenses, please contact CENFACS.

• The Season of Giving Continues with SHOPPING and DONATIONS at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

Every season or every month is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships. January is too a good and great month of the year to do it.

You can donate or recycle your unwanted and unneeded goods gifts you received over the festive days to CENFACS’ Zero-Waste e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty and hardships.

You can as well buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.

CENFACS’ Zero-Waste e-Store needs your support for SHOPPING and GOODS DONATIONS.

You can do something different this Season of Goods Donations by SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS Charity e-Store.

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

√ DONATE unwanted Festive GOODS GIFTS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS’ Zero-Waste e-Store this January and Winter

√ SHOP at CENFACS Zero-Waste e-Store to support the noble and beautiful causes of poverty relief this January and Winter.

Your SHOPPING and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty and hardships.

This is what the Season of Giving is all about.

Message in French (Message en français)

• Activités ou Microprojets de financement structuré du Nouvel An dans le cadre du programme ou projet de renforcement des capacités et aptitudes financières

Nous poursuivons le programme et le projet de renforcement des capacités et des aptitudes financières, comme prévu. Nous sommes disponibles pour travailler en mode hybride avec des bénéficiaires potentiels via le programme de renforcement des capacités et aptitudes financières (PPRCAF) ou le projet de renforcement des capacités et aptitudes financières (PpRCAF) afin que vous puissiez être plus capables en cette nouvelle année. Le PPRCAF et le PpRCAF aideront les bénéficiaires à réduire les risques liés à l’incapacité financière et à l’inaptitude financière tout en améliorant leurs revenus intergénérationnels et leurs transferts.

Les deuxièmes activités du PPRCAF et du PpRCAF, qui se dérouleront du 17 au 23 janvier 2024, ont été mises en évidence ci-dessous.

• • 17 au 23 janvier 2024 : Gestion financière des événements (Activité 2 du PPRCAF)

Cette deuxième activité de financement structuré, qui s’inscrit dans le cadre du programme de renforcement des capacités et aptitudes financières et qui se déroule sous forme de séances d’orientation, consiste à travailler avec les bénéficiaires pour obtenir des pistes sur la façon de gérer financièrement les événements. Il s’agit de guider les bénéficiaires dans un processus tactique, à court terme et réactif pour s’assurer que leurs ressources financières sont utilisées de la manière la plus efficace possible en ce qui concerne la gestion des événements.

Si l’un de nos bénéficiaires a besoin de conseils sur la façon de gérer financièrement ses événements, il peut demander des réponses au CENFACS.

• • Du 17 au 23 janvier 2024 : Planifier financièrement (activité 2 du PpRCAF)

Cette deuxième activité de financement structuré, qui fait partie du programme de renforcement des capacités et aptitudes financières, consiste à créer de manière stratégique et proactive des budgets détaillés pour une semaine, un mois ou une année (2024) tout en fixant des objectifs et des délais pour les atteindre à long terme.

Si l’un de nos bénéficiaires a besoin d’élaborer un plan ou une stratégie de financement qui explique comment il peut planifier financièrement à l’avance, il peut contacter le CENFACS.

Si vous avez une question sur la façon de gérer financièrement vos événements ou si vous avez besoin d’élaborer un plan financier ou une stratégie financière concernant les affaires de votre ménage, n’hésitez pas à contacter le CENFACS.

De plus, si vous avez des problèmes de planification financière, vous pouvez communiquer avec le CENFACS afin que nous puissions travailler ensemble sur vos besoins en matière de planification financière et vous aider à rester plus capable cette nouvelle année.

Main Development

• FACS, Issue N0. 82, Winter 2023/2024, Issue Title: Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2024

The contents and key summaries of the 82nd Issue of FACS are given below.

• • Contents and Pages

I. Key Terms Relating to the 82ndIssue of FACS (Page 2)

II. Approach to Homeownership and Land Tenure (Page 2)

III. Key Theory Used in the 82nd Issue of FACS (Page 2)

IV. Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations and their Financial Guidance to Potential Homeowners (Page 3)

V. Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations Specialised in General Homeownership Matter (Page 3)

VI. Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations, Rural Land Distribution and Women in Africa (Page 4)

VII. Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations, Restrictions Removal on Rental Land and Gender Equity Promotion in Africa (Page 4)

VIII. L’insécurité des droits fonciers comme source de conflits, d’instabilité et d’exclusion (Page 5)

IX. Des projets d’extraction qui désavouent les terres des peuples autochtones en Afrique (Page 5)

X. L’accessibilité et l’abordabilité des logements pour les personnes pauvres (Page 6)

XI. Mobilité résidentielle des personnes à faible revenu (Page 6)

XII. Survey, Testing Hypotheses, E-questionnaire and E-discussion on Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure (Page 7)

XIII. Support, Tools and Metrics, Information and Guidance on Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure (Page 8)

XIV. Workshop, Focus Group and Booster Activity about Private Homeownership, Secure Land Tenure and Poverty Reduction (Page 9)

XV. Giving and Project (Page 10)

• • Key Summaries

Please find below the key summaries of the 82nd Issue of FACS from page 2 to page 10.

• • • Key Terms Relating to the 82ndIssue of FACS (Page 2)

There are three terms used in the context of this Issue of FACS. These terms are private homeownership, secure land tenure, land tenure and property rights. Let us briefly explain these key terms.

• • • • Private homeownership

There are simple and complex definitions of homeownership. Let us use a simple definition of it which has been provided by ‘yourdictionary.com’ (9), which explains that

“Homeownership is the state of being homeowner”.

Homeowner is a person who owns their own home. A private homeowner is a person who owns a home not open to or available for the use of the general public.

Homeownership can be sole or joint. It is known that homeownership is an important dimension of well-being as it ensures stability and security for households. In the 82nd Issue of FACS, we are interested in sustainable homeownership; that is homeownership which is continued over the long term without adverse effects.

• • • • Secure land tenure

Our understanding of secure land tenure comes from ‘land-links.org’ (10), which explains that

“Land tenure is the relationship that individuals and groups hold with respect to land and land-base resources, pastures, and water”.

The Food Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (11) describes tenure security or security of tenure as

“The certainty that a person’s rights to land will be recognised by others and protected in cases of specific challenges”.

The website ‘land-links.org’ (op. cit.) adds that

“When land tenure is secure, land can be a cornerstone for economic growth and an incentive for investment; but when land rights are insecure, this can lead to conflicts, instability, and the exclusion of vulnerable groups, such as women, indigenous people and the poor”.

• • • • Land tenure and property rights to land

Land tenure and property rights to land are part of the Goal Target 1.4 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (12), which states that

“By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have
equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including micro finance”.

According to ‘unescwa.org’ (13),

“Secure tenure rights to land and property are critical for poverty reduction and for improving economic development, gender equality, social stability and sustainable development”.

‘Land-links.org’ (op. cit.) argues that land tenure rules define the ways in which property rights to land are allocated, transferred, used, or managed in a particular society”.

Taking the same line of reasoning, the World Resource Institute (14) observes that

“Rural people and communities need strong, secure rights over their property. Strong rights help protect rural people from expropriation, losing their land, and facing eviction… Secure rights create incentives for people to improve land management and agricultural production, such as by planting trees or building bench terraces to reduce soil erosion”.

Likewise, Ruth Meinzen-Dick (15) contemplates that

“Property rights are particularly important in determining who has entitlement to food, and may serve as a means to perpetuate or break the intergenerational transmission of poverty”.

The above-named definitions shape the contents of the 82nd Issue of FACS. However, definitions alone may not be enough to convey the message of this Issue. One may need to determine the approach they want to take in their journey to empowering poor people to become homeowners and secure their lands.

• • • Approach to Homeownership and Land Tenure (Page 2)

The 82nd Issue of FACS approaches homeownership and land tenure from the perspective of the housing demand-side, from low-income and poor people looking to access and/or keep their homeownership status and land tenure. These people could be homeless, landless, poor income-earners, poor renters, poor-homeowners, other vulnerable groups like women, indigenous people, etc.

• • • Key Theory Used in the 82nd Issue of FACS (Page 2)

The key theory used here is of land rights, which is the theory of land rights. Jean-Philippe Plateau (op. cit.) explains this theory in these words:

“The central tenet of this theory is that under the joint impact of increasing population pressure and market integration, land rights spontaneously evolve towards rising individualisation and that this evolution eventually leads rightsholders to press for the creation of duly formalised private property rights – a demand to which the state will have an incentive to respond”.

The 82nd Issue also considers informal mechanisms at community level. Notably, the Issue takes into account customary tenure systems and their neo-liberation, which do not recognise some groups (like women and migrants) the rights to possess and control land in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The 82nd Issue includes as well neo-liberalisation processes of customary tenure (like privatisation of rights, commoditisation, de-regulation, etc.).

All these instruments (that is, key theory, mechanisms and processes) enable to understand private homeownership and secure land tenure in the context and process of reducing poverty and enhancing sustainable development in Africa.

• • • Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations and their Financial Guidance to Potential Homeowners (Page 3)

There is a number of Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations (ASCOs) whose mission is to work with those who would like to become homeowners to access affordable housing financing solutions. These ASCOs are involved in counselling their beneficiaries on suitable financial products to fund their homeownership project. Their work tends to help their locals to find suitable financial mechanisms to become homeowners. These ASCOs use a combination of financial mechanisms or tools which include:

membership, shares, individual and collective savings, subsidies in the form of seed capital, microcredits, mortgages, donations, loans, contributions from families and friends, international non governmental organisations, etc.

These mechanisms or tools help the applicants to reach their goals of homeownership.

• • • Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations Specialised in General Homeownership Matter (Page 3)

There are other types of ASCOs that take homeownership and land tenure as their area of operation as well. Some of them are the branches of an international umbrella non governmental organisation working on these matters. They tend to be not-for-profit. Among them are organisations such as Alternative Programme for Social Housing in Cameroon, Twize in Mauritania, and Revolving Fund for Urban Renewal.

Taking the case of Twize Housing Improvement Programme in Mauritania, it is a programme to develop housing supply for the poor households. The programme assists local people to access low-cost housing and fight poverty through housing access in the suburbs of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. The beneficiaries of this programme include people in informal sector (like traders, workers, craftsmen) and other poor.

• • • Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations, Rural Land Distribution and Women in Africa (Page 4)

ASCOs specialised in women and land matters are working on issues such as change customs and traditional practices that prevent women from inheriting or acquiring ownership of land and other properties. They also work on improving data on women’s land rights.

Their work aligns with the view of the ‘un.org’ (16) which argues that

“Land ownership gives women greater bargaining power and stronger fallback opinions, a stronger voice in household decision-making which may contribute to stronger investments in food, education and schooling of children, with long-run consequences for poverty reduction”.

Among these ASCOs are campaigning ones which advocating for women to be able to have direct land rights independently from their husbands or male relatives where women have been discriminated. They are also demanding to improve the status of women with regard to family structures so that women can hold secure land rights in places where access to land comes from male line. These campaigning ASCOs often go far beyond by making sure that women have access to other opportunities such access to credit, markets and skills development.

• • • Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisations, Restrictions Removal on Rental Land and Gender Equity Promotion in Africa (Page 4)

To promote gender equity, there are ASCOs that are working on the removal of cultural restrictions linked to land inheritance via name of the property in the name of male only that prevent women to become the sole owner of a property. They try to promote inclusive access to land. They address gender inequities in access to land, housing and basic infrastructures. They also work on aspects of human rights that are attached to equitable access to stop land rights discrimination. This access can be direct to land or through purchase or inheritance.

They are as well engaged in activities to improve women’s ability in other areas of life. One of the areas is documenting land rights for women. Documenting land is about having something in writing to acknowledge women’s land rights and gender justice in land governance to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and provide them with documents to participate in land governance. Documenting land can help reduce poverty due to the lack of access to land. One example is ASCOs are working with rural women to have identity documents, in places they do not have them, to promote and protect women’s human rights in rural areas.

• • • L’insécurité des droits fonciers comme source de conflits, d’instabilité et d’exclusion (Page 5)

La sécurité foncière peut constituer la base de la paix et de la stabilité sur laquelle les gens peuvent construire l’accession à la propriété. En d’autres termes, l’absence de cette sécurité peut entraîner de l’incertitude et un manque de confiance pour ceux ou celles qui souhaitent investir dans leur future maison.

Cependant, il ne suffit pas d’avoir une sécurité foncière. Cette sécurité doit être maintenue et protégée contre les aléas ou éventuels risques et crises qui peuvent surgir. Par exemple, des conflits armés peuvent forcer les gens à quitter leur terre et maison. S’ils ont la sécurité foncière, quand ils retournent après les conflits ils peuvent toujours exercer leurs droits fonciers.

• • • Des projets d’extraction qui désavouent les terres des peuples autochtones en Afrique (Page 5)

L’histoire de l’accession à la propriété privée et de la sécurité foncière en Afrique est aussi celle de l’exploitation des terres qui pousse les peuples autochtones à quitter leurs terres sans le consentement libre, préalable et éclairé de ces personnes. Cette expulsion forcée de ces personnes est due à des causes multiples dont la création et l’expansion d’aires protégées, l’octroi des titres de propriété à des entreprises pour exploiter des terres, aux menaces des groupes armés et aux effets pervers climatiques.

En travaillant avec ces personnes exclues et expulsées, il est possible d’obtenir la restitition de leurs terres. C’est le cas des organisations soeurs caritatives basées en Afrique qui apportent leur soutien aux populations du Nord-Kivu en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) où les victimes des terres prises par la force ont récupéré leurs terres. Ils l’ont emporté alors qu’un projet de loi avait été voté par le Parlement Congolais en avril 2021 pour protéger et promouvoir les droits des peuples autochtones de la RDC.

• • • L’accessibilité et l’abordabilité des logements pour les personnes pauvres (Page 6)

Ces dernières années, il y a eu un effondrement significatif de l’accession à la propriété pour les pauvres, en particulier dans les familles où il n’y a pas de transferts intergénérationnels de richesse. Et les crises comme celles du coronavirus et du coût cher de la vie n’ont fait qu’amplifier ce phénomène.

Pour ces familles, le fait d’assurer l’accessibilité et l’abordabilité des logements leur permettra de rendre compte de leurs besoins au sein de la communauté à laquelle elles appartiennent et vivent. Cela les aidera également à jouer leur rôle au sein de leurs familles respectives et au sein de leur communauté ou de la société.

• • • Mobilité résidentielle des personnes à faible revenu (Page 6)

Le niveau des possibilités de gagner de l’argent peut avoir une incidence sur la mobilité résidentielle. Les conditions économiques et financières des pauvres peuvent les obliger à rechercher dans des régions ou des endroits où les opportunités économiques sont moindres, en particulier en ce qui concerne l’emploi.

Pour inverser cette tendance, il y a lieu à les encourager à rechercher des opportunités ou des solutions liées à leur mobilité résidentielle ou simplement à trouver des occupations bien rémunérées. C’est en prenant des telles initiatives qu’ils sortiront de la pauvreté, pauvreté qui est liée à une mauvaise mobilité résidentielle ou à l’espace.

• • • Survey, Testing Hypotheses, E-questionnaire and E-discussion on Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure (Page 7)

• • • • Survey on private homeownership

Homeownership is an important dimension of people’s well-being as it can help ensure stability and security for households.

The purpose of this survey is to collect information from a sample of our users and community members regarding their perception of private homeownership.

Participation to this survey is voluntary.

As part of the survey, we are running a questionnaire which contains some questions. One of these questions is:

Q: In your opinion, how much private homeownership has contributed to your well-being?

You can respond and directly send your answer to CENFACS.

• • • • Testing hypotheses about transitions out of poverty

For those of our members who would like to dive deep into private homeownership and secure land tenure, we have two educational activities for them.

a) Activity/test 1: Doing regression analysis between job opportunities and homeownership

Those who will be interested in they can conduct a regression analysis to find if getting a job increases the likelihood of moving into homeownership.

b) Activity/test 2: Relationships between access to secure land and poverty reduction

Those who want can test the hypothesis if there is any association between poverty and landlessness, between poverty reduction and secure access to land.

In order to conduct these tests, one needs data on private homeownership and secure land tenure.

• • • • E-question on your view about sustainable homeownership for all

Any of our readers and users can answer the following question:

Q: Is sustainable homeownership for all is realistic goal in the current lifespan of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?

You can provide your answer directly to CENFACS.

For those answering any of this question and needing first to discuss sustainable homeownership, they can contact CENFACS.

• • • • E-discussion on one’s access to the property ladder

Many of our members have their own views on what determine one’s access to the housing ladder. Some think gender (being a male or female). Others argue it is education and employment status. Others more say, it is wealth (being rich or poor). Others more and more believe, it is networking or connections (that is, who you know or social mobility).

For those who may have any views or thoughts or even experience to share with regard to this matter, they can join our e-discussion to exchange their views or thoughts or experience with others.

To e-discuss with us and others, please contact CENFACS.

• • • Support, Tool and Metrics, Information and Guidance on Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure (Page 8)

• • • • Ask CENFACS for Counselling Support regarding the reduction of poverty linked to the lack of sustainable homes

The lack of sustainable homes can be treated as a form of poverty or deprivations.

For those members of our community who are suffering from this type of poverty or deprivations, they can ask CENFACS to work with them so that they find sustainable home or solutions.

CENFACS can work with them to explore ways of coming out of it.

We can work with them under our Advice-, Guidance- and Information-giving Service. We can as well signpost them to organisations working on sustainable homes for those in need.

If you are a member of our community, you can ask us for basic support regarding your inability to access affordable sustainable homes.

• • • • Tools and Metrics of the 82nd Issue of FACS

• • • • • Property Rights Tools and Metrics

The 82nd Issue utilises as tool the Global Property Rights Index (Prindex) and as metric the United Nations’ Indicator of the Proportion of Adult Population with Secure Tenure Rights to Land. What are these tools or metrics are about?

a) The Global Property Rights Index (Prindex)

One of the tools used to measure global property rights is Prindex.

According to the ‘globallandalliance.org’ (17),

“Prindex is an indicator of citizens’ perception of the security of property rights. The Prindex database is open. The dataset is intended to monitor and encourage good governance of property rights”.

In other words, it is a measurement of people’s perceptions of their property rights and land tenure security.

Those who would like to discuss the relevancy of this tool and its application, they can feel free to contact CENFACS.

b) Proportion of Adult Population with Secure Tenure Rights to Land

This is the United Nations’ Indicator 1.4.2 of its Sustainable Development Goals (op. cit.) which is about working out the proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, with legally recognized documentation and who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and by type of tenure.

This indicator is also used in the 82nd Issue to measure the incidence or level of poverty due to the lack secure tenure rights in Africa.

• • • • • Share of households who can afford to buy a house

The Issue 82 also considers as metric the number of households who can buy a house. On this matter, ‘statista.com’ (op. cit.) notes that

“At least 95 percent of urban households in over 17 of the countries in Africa were unable to buy the cheapest newly built house in 2021”.

This figure speaks for itself about the need of working the urban households to help them realise their dream of becoming homeowners.

• • • • • Poverty gap ratio

This is an interesting metrics of poverty as it measures the intensity of poverty.

The online ‘marketbusinessnews.com’ (18) explains that

“The poverty gap ratio or poverty gap index is the average of the ratio of the poverty gap to the poverty line. Economists and statisticians express it as a percentage of the poverty line for a region or whole country…The poverty gap ratio considers how far, on the average, poor people are from poverty line”.

The above tools and metrics can be used in dealing with poverty, private homeownership and secure land tenure in Africa. For example, one can use the poverty gap ratio to measure the average shortfall of the income of the poor home-owners from the poverty line.

• • • • Information and Guidance on Sustainable Homes and Poverty Reduction

Information and Guidance include two types areas of support via CENFACS, which are:

a) Information and Guidance on Sustainable Homes and Poverty Reduction

b) Signposts to Improve Users’ Experience about Sustainable Homes and Poverty Reduction.

• • • • • Information and Guidance on Sustainable Homes and Poverty Reduction

Those members of community who are looking for information and guidance on sustainable homes and who do not know what to do, CENFACS can work with them (via needs assessment) or provide them with leads about organisations and services that can help them.

• • • • • Signposts to Improve Users’ Experience about Sustainable Homes and Poverty Reduction

For those who are looking for whereabout to find help about homeownership counselling queries, we can direct them to the relevant services and organisations.

More tips and hints relating to the matter can be obtained from CENFACS‘ Advice-giving Service.

Additionally, you can request from CENFACS a list of organisations and services providing help and support in the area of sustainable homes and the reduction of housing poverty, although the Issue 82 does not list them. Before making any request, one needs to specify the kind of organisations they are looking for.

To make your request, just contact CENFACS with your name and contact details.

• • • Workshop, Focus Group and Booster Activity about Private Homeownership, Secure Land Tenure and Poverty Reduction (Page 9)

• • • • Mini Themed Workshop on Homeownership Skills to Reduce Poverty Linked to the Lack of Sustainable Homeownership

Boost your knowledge and skills about the reduction of poverty linked to sustainable homeownership via CENFACS.

The workshop aims at supporting those without or with less information and knowledge about housing poverty gain homeownership skills and knowledge while improving the quality of their lives. The workshop will provide recommendations for actions with options and opportunities for the participants.

To enquire about the boost, please contact CENFACS.

• • • • Focus Group on Secure Land Tenure

The focus group will deal with Customary Tenure Systems and the Ability to Claim Property Ownership by the Poor in Africa. It will treat this topic since it is argued that in Africa within a customary system people are unable to participate in capital appreciation of the land on which they live.

You can take part in our focus group on ways of learning security about land tenure and sharing this information with relatives and friends who need security about their land tenure in Africa. This focus group is also part of a structured activity to improve your perception of land tenure within the community.

Participants will have one-on-one conversations with each other outside their comfort zone.

To take part in the focus group using deliberative practice strategies, please contact CENFACS.

• • • • Autumn Light Activity: Becoming Private Homeowners

This user involvement activity revolves around the answers to the following question:

Q: What steps do you need to take to become private homeowner?

Those who would like to answer these questions and participate to our Becoming Private Homeowners Activity, they are welcome.

To take part in this activity, please contact CENFACS.

• • • Giving and Project (Page 10)

• • • • Readers’ Giving

You can support FACS, CENFACS bilingual newsletter, which explains what is happening within and around CENFACS.

FACS also provides a wealth of information, tips, tricks and hacks on how to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

You can help to continue its publication and to reward efforts made in producing it.

To support, just contact CENFACS on this site.

• • • • Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure Project (PHSLTP)

PHSLTP is an initiative that helps to reduce poverty by allocating power on home and land to those who would like to become private home and land owners in Africa. The project hopes to improve health, hygiene, and educational opportunities while ensuring access to clean water, safe toilet, electricity, and respite from heat and disease-spreading insects.

To support or contribute to PHSLTP, please contact CENFACS.

For further details including the implementation plan of the PHSLTP, please contact CENFACS.

The full copy of the 82nd Issue of FACS is available on request.

For any queries and comments about this Issue, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

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• References

(1) https://www.statista.com/statistics/613846/urban-households-who-can-afford-the-cheapest-new-houses-africa-by-country/ (accessed in January 2024)

(2) https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/07/indicator_1.4.2_training_module_secure_tenure_rights_to_land.pdf (accessed in January 2024)

(3) https://www.ifad.org/documents/38714170/39148759/Land+tenure+security+and+poverty+reduction.pdf/ (accessed in January 2024)

(4) Plateau, J.-P. (1996), The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment, Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27 (1), pp. 29-86, January

(5) https://study.com/academy/lesson/private-property-economics-overview-rights-examples.html (accessed in January 2024)

(6) https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/01/whats-stake-africa-2024(accessed in January 2024)

(7) https://www.controlrisks.com/our-thinking/insights/africa-ten-key-issues-to-watch-in-2024 (accessed in January 2024)

(8) https://theexchange.africa/countries/fastest-growing-economies-in-2024/#

(9) https://www.yourdictionary.com/homeownership (accessed in January 2024)

(10) https://www.land-links.org/What-is-land-tenure/ (accessed in January 2024)

(11) https://landportal.org/sites/landportal.info/files/170622%20C%20Tenure%20Security-3.pdf# (accessed in January 2024)

(12) https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/07/indicator_1.4.2_training_module_secure_tenure_rights_to_land.pdf (accessed in January 2024)

(13) https://archieve.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.org/files/u593/module_8_secure_tenure_rights_to_land_edited_23-03-2018.pdf# (accessed in January 2024)

(14) https://www.wri.org/insights/shedding-light-land-tenure-africa (accessed in January 2024)

(15) Meinzen-Dick, R. (2009), Property Rights for Poverty Reduction? DESA Working Paper No.1, ST/ESN/ST/ESA/2009/DWP/91, https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2009/wp91_2009.pdf# (accessed in January 2024)

(16) https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2009/wp91_2009.pdf# (accessed in January 2024)

(17) https://www.globallandalliance.org/prindex (accessed in January 2024)

(18) https://marketbusinessnews.com/information-on-credit/gap-ratio–definition-meaning (accessed in August 2023)

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• Help CENFACS Keep the Poverty Relief Work Going this Year

We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.

One could also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.

Additionally, we would like to inform you that planned gifting is always an option for giving at CENFACS. Likewise, CENFACS accepts matching gifts from companies running a gift-matching programme.

Donate to support CENFACS!

FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE AND BEAUTIFUL CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.

JUST GO TO: Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)

Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.

Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.

We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2024 and beyond.

With many thanks.

Private Homeownership and Secure Land Tenure to Reduce Poverty in Africa