Abstract
There is an increasing demand for good urban governance by city residents all over sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This chapter traces the historical background of land issues in the region in response to the growing quest for “good governance” in urban land affairs. It critiques current and past urban governance approaches in past decades and synthesises the main objectives of the SDGs and the NUA to propose a good governance approach to land issues in sub-Saharan cities. A case study of land-related governance issues in Windhoek (Namibia) suggests how a good governance approach can be applied and advocates city autonomy in managing challenges. Local self-governance of cities (with less interference from national and regional governments) would allow city administrators and their residents to develop visions and implement activities to fulfil the specific needs of their city through land-based methods.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The word Ubuntu is derived from the Nguni Bantu aphorism, Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu” (translated: a person is a person because of or through others).
References
Ake C (1993) Is Africa democratising? Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, December 11, 1993
Amoako KY (2013) The UNECA and good governance in Africa. Harvard International Development Conference on Governance and Development in a Dynamic Global Environment, Boston, Massachusetts, April 4–5 2013
Antonio D, Mabikke S, Selebalo C et al (2016) Securing tenure through responsive land use planning: an innovative tool for country level interventions. FIG working week, Christchurch, New Zealand, May 2–6, 2016
AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium (2010a) Land policy in Africa: Eastern Africa regional assessment. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, Addis Ababa
AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium (2010b) Land policy in Africa: Southern Africa regional assessment. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, Addis Ababa
AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium (2010c) Framework and guidelines on land policy in Africa – land policy in Africa: a framework to strengthen land rights, enhance productivity and secure livelihoods. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, Addis Ababa
AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium (2011) Land policy in Africa: West Africa regional assessment. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, Addis Ababa
AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium (2012) Land policy in Africa: Central Africa regional assessment. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, Addis Ababa
Bhattarai AM (2006) Problems of developing countries in promoting good governance. Text from a lecture at the National Judicial Academy, Nepal, December 29, 2006
Brandt N (2019) Urban resilience and sustainability challenges: a case study on the city of Windhoek. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch
Buyana K, Adegun O, Mensah CA et al (2015) The quest for governance modes on sustainable urbanization. Nature of Cities 2015; 18 October
Chigbu UE (2011) On grooming good governance in Africa: a scrutiny on good Governance in the African Family. Contemporary J Afr Soc 1(1):114–133
Chigbu UE (2012) Addressing good governance in Africa: a discussion paper. African Good Governance Network, Germany
Chigbu UE (2019a) Anatomy of women’s landlessness in the patrilineal customary land tenure systems of sub-Saharan Africa and a policy pathway. Land Use Policy 86:126–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.04.041
Chigbu UE (2019b) Masculinity, men and patriarchal issues aside: How do women’s actions impede women’s access to land? Matters arising from a peri-rural community in Nigeria. Land Use Policy 81:39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.10.033
Chigbu UE, Antonio D (2019) Rural-urban inter-relationships in an urbanising world: the literature perspective of Nigeria. FIG working week, Hanoi, 22–26 April, 2019
Chigbu UE, Haub O, Mabikke S et al (2016) Tenure responsive land use planning: a guide for country level implementation. UN-Habitat, Nairobi
Chigbu UE, Alemayehu Z, Dachaga W (2019) Uncovering Land Tenure Insecurities: tips for tenure responsive land-use planning in Ethiopia. Dev Pract 29(3):371–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2019.1567688
Chigbu UE, Wanyonyi A, Antonio D (2020) Empowerment of youth through strengthening their land rights knowledge and research capacity: evidence from Eastern and Southern Africa. AfrJ Land Policy Geospatial Sci 3(1):129–142
Christensen Å (2019) Land governance in Namibia: challenges and opportunities. World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, Washington, DC, March 25–29, 2019
du Plessis J, Chigbu UE, Mitchell D et al (2020) A structured foundation for teaching and training land actors in responsible land administration. FIG working week (virtual), Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 10–14, 2020. www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2020/papers/ts05a/TS05A_du_plessis_chigbu_et_al_10653_abs.pdf
Global Land Tool Network (2018) Fit-for-purpose land administration: a country level implementation strategy for Nepal. GLTN, Nairobi
Gwaleba JM, Chigbu UE (2020) Participation in property formation: insights from land-use planning in an informal urban settlement in Tanzania. Land Use Policy 92:104482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104482
Handayani W, Rudiarto I, Setyono JS et al (2017) Vulnerability assessment: a comparison of three different city sizes in the coastal area of Central Java, Indonesia. Adv Clim Chang Res 8(4):286–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2017.11.002
Huffman TN (1996) Snakes and crocodiles: power and symbolism in Ancient Zimbabwe. Witwatersrand University Press, South Africa
Lall SV, Henderson JV, Venables AV (2017) Africa’s cities: opening doors to the world. The World Bank, Washington, DC
Louwsma M, Konttinen K, Chigbu UE et al (2020) Generic tooling for land consolidation – the concept explained. FIG working week (virtual), Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 10–14, 2020. www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2020/papers/ts03i/TS03I_louwsma_konttinen_et_al_10748_abs.pdf
Mkandawire T (2007) Good governance: the itinerary of an idea. Dev Pract 17(4/5):679–681
Mlambo DN, Mubecua MA, Mpanza SE, Mlambo VH (2019) Corruption and its implications for development and good governance: a perspective from post-colonial Africa. J Econ Behav Stud 11(1):39–47. https://doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v11i1(J).2746
Penco L, Ivaldi E, Bruzzi C, Musso E (2020) Knowledge-based urban environments and entrepreneurship: inside EU cities. Cities 96:102443
Rwelamila PD, Talukhaba AA, Ngowi AB (1999) Tracing the African project failure syndrome: the significance of ‘Ubuntu’. Eng Constr Archit Manag 6(4):335–346. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb021122
Saghir J, Santoro J (2018) Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa: meeting challenges by bridging stakeholders. Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC
Shikangalah RN, Paton EN, Jeltsch F (2019) Perceptions on urban water erosion in Windhoek, Namibia. http://repository.unam.edu.na/bitstream/handle/11070/2614/shikangalah_erosion_2019.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. Accessed 12 Jan 2020
Thandiwe D (2018) Urbanisation and housing challenges in Sub Saharan Africa. Centre for Affordable Housing Finance Africa. http://housingfinanceafrica.org/documents/urbanisation-and-housing-challenges-is-sub-saharan-africa/. Accessed 11 January 2020
United Nations (2017) New urban agenda. United Nations, Quito
United Nations Statistics Division (2019) Goal 11: make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2017/goal-11/
Windhoek City Council (2019) City of Windhoek integrates social media into its communication strategy. Aloe 66:2
World Bank (1989) Sub-Saharan Africa: from crisis to sustainable growth- a long-term perspective study. World Bank, Washington, DC
World Bank (2017) Productive, livable cities will open Africa's doors to the world. https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/publication/africa-cities-opening-doors-world. Accessed 13 Jan 2020
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chigbu, U.E. (2021). The Quest for “Good Governance” of Urban Land in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insight into Windhoek, Namibia. In: Home, R. (eds) Land Issues for Urban Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Local and Urban Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52504-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52504-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-52503-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-52504-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)