Powers of Urban Local Government on Land Administration, and the challenges of Illegal Housing: The case of Burayu City Administration, Oromia National Regional State.
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Date
2016
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The research investigates the powers of urban local governments and their capacity to
execute policies and laws, in general and the competence of Burayu city administration in
effecting land law and protecting illegal housing in particular.
The study used mixed research approach. Questionnaires, in-depth interviews with key
informants and focused group discussions (FGD) from purposely selected Burayu residents were
used as means to get data for the study. The key informants were officials of Burayu City and
kebele leaders, farmers’ residents of Burayu city, and investors. The study also used document
analysis, from law, regulations, and procedures pertinent to the research under discussion as
secondary data sources.
The study found out that Burayu city, the research site, is under the fast transformation,
from small village to grade one urban local government within six decades. However, because of
poor land administration and corrupted system, the city could be the source of contagious
conflicts that could take the life of many citterns and distraction of uncalculated property in
different zones of Oromia National Regional State.
The main reasons for this chaos were unfair compensation paid for expropriated farm
land, high rate of the lease price, missed land cadastral, unable to register old land possession,
and the backlog of packages formulated in lease law that cannot helps the residents, and the
poorly discussed and gullible “Addis Ababa –Oromia Integrated Developmental Master Plan”
As a result many social and political challenges such as increase of illegal housing and land
transaction “in black market” could be common phenomena.
This study points out that there is a need to rethink on the existing land rules and
regulation of the land lease, property compensation and expropriation law; making law for pierurban
enclosed to the urban area, that urban expansion or investment shall be governed by
equity and equality principle among the citizens. Realizing urban local governments, self
administration and decentralized autonomy would build democracy from below,