11th June 2019, Bamiyan. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan continues to issue and distribute land Occupancy Certificates (OCs) to residents of informal areas. This week, 150 households from Bamiyan received their Occupancy Certificates in a ceremony that took place in the premises of the Arazi office (Land Authority) in the Central Province.
The beneficiaries of this initiative were residents of informal areas of Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4. Since the launch of City for All, a government programme aiming at registering all properties in 12 Afghan cities, property surveys were carried in the totality of properties in the boundaries of Bamiyan Municipality. So far, 12,300 properties were surveyed by City for All staff embedded in the Municipality. Teams of social mobilizers and surveyors were deployed to the streets and districts of the city to inform citizens about this innovative initiative and to conduct the surveys. Till date, 350 households received their Occupancy Certificates (OCs) in Bamiyan. Thousands of citizens have already benefited from this programme in Bamiyan as each of these properties host more than a family. In Kabul and the remaining provinces, more than 500,000 properties were already surveyed.
During the ceremony, chaired by Mr. Mohammed Zaher, Director of Arazi office in Bamiyan (an institution within the Ministry of Urban Development and Land), he highlighted that “this initiative will stop illegal land grabbing guaranteeing citizens their right to the land”. Mr. Koussay Boulaich, Head of Communications of UN-Habitat congratulated the government and the beneficiaries of the OCs stating that “UN-Habitat is honored to accompany the Afghan institutions and the people of Afghanistan on this initiative which guarantees land rights, encourages economic investments of residents of informal areas and gives Afghan women the right to possess an Occupancy Certificate”. In Bamiyan, more than 80% of the Occupancy Certificates were issued to both male and their spouses residing in state land.
With financial support from the EU and USAID and technical assistance from UN-Habitat, City for All has opened a new chapter of land reform in Afghanistan by guaranteeing the security of tenure to all urban dwellers including women.