Mazar-e-sharif, 31 October 2020. The Directorate of Urban Development and Land in Balkh province has distributed land occupancy certificates (OCs) to residents of informal settlements in Mazar city. The OC programme is administered by the Ministry of Urban Development and Land (MUDL) and supported by UN-Habitat with funding from the EU under the City for All (CFA) programme. The CFA programme has opened a new chapter of land reform in Afghanistan by guaranteeing the security of tenure off all urban dwellers including women. To date, 1985 households have received the certificates in Mazar-e-sharif.

Issuance of Occupancy certificates to the residents of informal areas in Mazar-e-sharif city Photo credit: MUDL

The registration of urban properties to improve tenure security in Afghan cities is a policy of the Government of Afghanistan. The CFA programme aims to survey and register all properties in 12 Afghan cities. So far, 837,420 properties have been surveyed and registered in the 12 municipalities. Teams of social mobilizers and surveyors are embedded in municipal district offices and deployed to inform citizens about this innovative initiative and to conduct the surveys.

During the ceremony, Mr. Shirshah Hotak, the Director of Urban Development and Land for the North Zone stated that “this initiative will stop land grabbing as all the households will receive their certificates based on the OC regulation”.

Bebe Quraish, a resident of district 7 of Mazar city thanked the government for securing her house through the issuance of the occupancy certificate. “I was in constant fear of eviction. I did not have any legal document for my house. Now I will live with my children without fear of eviction or demolition of my house”.

Muhammad Hussain and his wife received their OC.

Muhammad Hussain, a resident of district 8 who received a joint certificate with his spouse, remarked “I am very happy today to receive my OC. The most important thing is that my wife also has a rights under this certificate. This government supports women’s economic development”.

With financial support from the EU and technical assistance from UN-Habitat, City for All.