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Village Land Councils and the Management of Land Use Conflicts between Farmers and Pastoralists in Mbarali District, Tanzania


Juma Zuberi Homera
Henry A. Mollel

Abstract

Village Land Councils have been established to resolve land based conflicts in rural Tanzania
where farmers and pastoralists are considered to be one of the main conflicting parties. Practical
experience reveals that the Village Land Councils fail to attain their institutional goals because of
challenges facing the VLC members as individuals and institutions. Such challenges can be
examined from the socio-economic and institutional perspectives. Semi-structured and key
informants interviews were used to collect raw data from the respondents and key informants
respectively. In-depth information was collected through Focus Group Discussions from the
VLC members. NVivo software was used to analyze qualitative data for generating objective
findings. The study found that the working environment of the VLC members was extremely
poor implying that poor performance in the provision of mediation data. Some of the key
challenges that were mentioned include: lack of competency among VLC members, political
interferences, inadequate resources and absence of legal autonomy. These challenges were
outlined as barriers for the attainment of VLCs’ goals operating in Mwanavala and Matebete
Villages. The study concludes that the respective authorities within the government have to
develop sustainable plans and strategies for the supporting daily operations among VLCs. The
study recommends that VLCs have to be empowered technically, financially and socially in
order to provide quality mediation services for the land disputants. Such initiatives should be
supported by the local communities to ensure cooperation and mutual support for the common
good.


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eISSN: 2787-0359
print ISSN: 2787-0367