Across Africa, the majority of both rural and urban residents have insecure tenure rights, either in law or in practice. They face the legacy of land dispossession, colonial legal codes, contested customary tenure systems, and growing pressure on land in the face of commercial investments. How can land rights and land governance in Africa be strengthened? To address these challenges requires building a highly-skilled cohort of land professionals and land policy makers. This short course will equip these leaders to resolve the land challenges facing the continent.
The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape is hosting its 2025 short course on the Political Economy of Land Governance in Africa, in collaboration with the African Land Policy Centre (ALPC). The medium of instruction and assessment will be conducted in English.
When is this course offered?
The short course will be conducted from 31 March to 04 April 2025, online via the MS Teams platform. Participants are expected to be online for the entire duration of the short course. Please see the timetable below.
There are three sessions per day:
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): 08.00-10.00, 10.30-12.30, 13.00-15.00
West African Time (GMT+1): 09.00-11.00, 11.30-13.30, 14.00-16.00
Central African Time (GMT+2): 10.00-12.00, 12.30-14.30, 15.00-17.00
East African Time (GMT+3): 11.00-13.00, 13.30-15.30, 16.00-18.00
What is the course content?
The key themes and concepts that will be covered in the short course will include:
- Pre-colonial and colonial histories of customary and statutory land tenure in Africa
- Introduction to the political economy of land in Africa
- Political economy of extractive industries and land rights
- Land reform law, policy and governance in Africa
- Women’s land rights in Africa
- Conservation and land governance in Africa
- Urban and rural land administration in Africa
- The latest drivers of land grabbing: Financialisation, energy and geopolitics
- African and global land policy and policy guidelines
- Food systems and land governance in Africa
- Climate crisis and land governance
- Commodification of the commons in the transition to neo-liberalism
How much does it cost?
The short course is funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbelt (GIZ) GmbH, in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), under the Network of Excellence in Land Governance in Africa (NELGA) project. There are no fees for selected participants to attend the short course training online. Selected participants must ensure they have access to good internet infrastructure to attend the course.
How will participants be assessed?
As this is an University- accredited course, participants will be assessed by means of a pre-contact assignment, group assessment, and a final submission of an individual reflective report. Participants will receive either:
A Certificate of Competence for those who attend 100% of the sessions and successfully complete all the assessments,
OR
a Certificate of Attendance for those who attend at least 80% of the sessions and participate in 50% of all in-session assignments, but do not complete the assessment activities.
Who can apply?
Applicants should hold an undergraduate degree and have at least 3-4 years of work experience. Applicants without a university degree may be considered, if they have at between 10-15 years of experience. Applicants should be conversant in, write in and understand English.
How do I apply?
To apply, please complete the online application form. You will be requested to upload:
- A motivation for why you are a good candidate and the relevance the course has for your work (300 words); and
- An essay on governance issues in land, natural resources, fisheries, or forestry within the context in which you work (500 words).
CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Monday, 03 March 2025
For queries, please contact:
Carla Henry
Coordinator: Postgraduate & Continuing Education
Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies
Email: nelga@plaas.org.za
For more about the course, see our NELGA webpage.
