PAP debates land grabs, climate change

Addressing the Fifth Ordinary Session of the Second Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Jerry Dimotema Thibedi, chairperson of the PAP Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, said that Africa is feeling the whiplash of climate change. He hopes that the conference will provide a way forward in dealing with disasters witnessed in various parts of the continent.

Thibedi stressed that Africa is unable to cope with - and adapt to - climate change, adding that the continent's weak legislative framework prevents it from stimulating climate change strategies. He said further that Africans must be educated and aware of the effects of climate change. In a separate report, presented at "Making Investment Work for Africa: A Parliamentarian Response to Land Grabs" - a seminar on foreign investment in agricultural land and water, Thibedi addressed the issue of land grab, or land investment, which is seen as a major problem on the African continent.

According to Thibedi, due to the new wave of investments - largely from foreign investors - 32 to 50 million hectares of African land have been allocated to land investments. "In many countries, governments own legal rights on the majority of the lands that are being inhabited by Africans. These foreign companies acquire the lands through the governments", remarked Thibedi, noting further that governments get to benefit from selling lands to foreign investors, and that inhabitants suffer the consequences. During the ensuing debate, the committee called for a moratorium on new large-scale land acquisitions, pending implementation of land policies and guidelines on good land governance.

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