Fifteen bright young minds from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe came together recently to brainstorm innovative solutions to combat land corruption affecting their communities.

Participants were brought to South Africa for an intensive three-day workshop, where they were mentored by leading social entrepreneurs and encouraged to develop solutions to boost integrity in the land sector, with an emphasis on cross-border collaboration. The four best projects to come out of this initiative will win seed grants to so they can be developed further. 

At last month’s International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Malaysia, I co-hosted a panel on land grabbing and corruption with Transparency International. This global annual event gathers together governments, civil society, enforcement agencies, journalists and others to discuss ways of tackling corruption. This year’s IACC focused on ending impunity – a problem which has helped make land grabbing prolific and very hard to tackle.

By Mary Jane Ncube, Farai Shone Mutondoro and Manase Chiweshe

As political parties gear up for the 2018 national elections in Zimbabwe, urban land appears to be emerging as an important campaigning tool for ruling party Zanu PF. 

Amid recent mass public protests against corruption, economic decline and an import ban on basic commodities, young people who showed loyalty to the party werepromised land.  

Exciting news! Ashoka, the International Anti-Corruption Conference and Transparency International have teamed up to launch the first ChangemakerXchange in Southern Africafrom 2 – 5 October in Johannesburg, South Africa.

By Mary Jane Ncube, Farai Shone Mutondoro and Manase Chiweshe

In Zimbabwe land is power. And when this power is abused to score political points or amass wealth illegally, the most vulnerable citizens are the hardest hit. In the traditionally patriarchal communities of Zimbabwe, these citizens are most often women.

In Ghana, land is an indispensable asset. It’s a source of livelihood and social identity, and men and women should have equal opportunities to benefit from it. But when entrenched patriarchy tips the power scales, and corruption reinforces cultural norms, the impact on women can be devastating.

A recent survey reveals that one in three Ghanaians have been asked to pay a bribe for land-related services in recent years. The study was done by the Ghana Integrity Initiative, the local chapter of Transparency International in Ghana.