It is almost impossible for young people in Afrika to own land and property. When they do, it’s a painstaking and arduous achievement born of momentous perspiration and sacrifice. Land ownership is imperative for every person, but why is it particularly important for young people?
Looking at the age range from 26 to 40, that makes up most millennials and some Gen Z. They are exploding at an increasing pace and those people need to be accommodated and fed. Ownership of land means control of land resources in mining and agriculture (mainly) which lifts the 500 million Afrikans out of extreme poverty. This group makes up the future leaders of Afrika, that must be able to understand fair land governance and that land is power.
In the developed world, numbers suggest that people start owning property at around 25 years of age. This is usually around the time one gets professional employment and has become of economic utility. However, studies have shown that the age is also getting higher in the past few years. Across Afrika, the statistics suggest that most start owning such assets in the later years of their youth, around 30 to 34. Close to a decade later. This gap is very significant. It affects our rate of development, our professional aptitude and confidence. It can also infer that we stay in poverty for longer. It is worth noting that, this contradicts the fact that we have more abundant habitable land than most of the developed nations. Our sunrises and warm sunsets are not yet blocked by skyscrapers in every direction.
The number one inhibitor to land and property ownership for young Afrikans is the cost. This comes on two fronts, that is, the buying power of young professionals is extremely low when compared to the cost of living thus very little coin can be spared for long term investing. The cost of property itself is extremely high. This is because of the absence or high cost of loan financing for construction and primary land acquisition due to economic decay. The cost is passed down to the individual prospective buyer. Worse still, the purchase requires upfront cash and hefty down payments which a minute proportion can afford.
Poor land administration systems play a big role. “Poor” translating to groggy, archaic, slow and unfair. For both urban and rural setups, the governance of land does not proactively ensure equality of access. This disproportionately affects younger generations and moreover, younger women. The redundancies in the land transaction system create a complicated bureaucratic process which scares off millennials as it is difficult to navigate, trust and understand.
Land crime and land corruption have become prevalent in most underdeveloped Afrikan countries. The cancer has corroded both the private land market and the public land administration bodies, with the poison of fraud and corruption respectively. Tales of unsuspecting homebuyers getting duped thousands of cash by bogus real estate agents, and land barons. Forgery of paperwork, allocation of unplanned land parcels and sale of stateland are all deterrents. The professionals and authorities that should protect consumers have soiled their reputational, added to the absence of justice on perpetrators or compensation of victims.
Another hinderance to land and property ownership is the lack of financial literacy and critical knowledge in land matters which are traditionally non-academic education. Young people are generally not exposed to understanding how money works and the importance of investment. This is partly owed to the surrounding social and economic environment but also the lack curiosity and blinded focus on one’s particular career. It should be understood that asset ownership is the broadest pathway to escape poverty and attain prosperity, that dwarfs any other purchase which may be considered status symbol.
If there is any takeaway, it is a holistic responsibility of private upstarts to innovate accessible pathways to land ownership – especially via FinTech – and that of governments to inspire confidence in property investment by detoxifying the land governance and administration system. The onus also falls upon individuals to prioritize the conversation on land ownership and investment. As always, remember that land is power!
State Of Tenure 