The Addis Abeba City Administration has had a bad track record when it comes to the administration and supervision of land in the city. The taskforce established by the city administration to study land issues in the capital has revealed problems, in detail, in a report of the study it conducted during the past year.

Following the study, the city administration took various steps that it thought would alleviate the problems. One of the steps was to solve the title deed issues that have festered over the years without any concrete solutions. Although late, this move, if seen through to the end, is commendable.

However, following the announcement of its plan to solve title deed issues, the recent move by the administration, to reclaim one million square metres of land belonging to 34 real estate developers for failing to start their projects on time, has come as a surprise to many. A letter, written by the Land Administration and Building Permits Authority of the city to the district offices of Bole, Yeka, Kolfe Keranio, and Nefas Silk Lafto, ordered these plots to be reclaimed, their deeds collected or invalidated, and their land to be put into the government’s land bank.

True, real estate developers have failed to perform as well as they should have. This much was established in the report by the taskforce, whose study of seven districts has shown that only around 14pc have started construction on time and are on track.

The case with these plots, some of which are owned by high profile businessmen in the city, is a puzzling one. Many of these real estate developers, who signed lease agreements in 2005 and 2006 and who are taken aback by the decision of the city, cite many problems that largely have to do with the city administration.

Even though they signed their lease agreements in 2005 and 2006, some claim not to have received their land until a couple of years ago, as relocation and compensation of people who were already living on the plots of land they were given took some time.

Others complain about the lack of infrastructure, like road access and electricity, which hindered them from starting their projects.

Many of these developers wrote letters protesting the decision and asking the administration to reconsider by taking the situation of each developer case-by-case. The administration will take each request as it comes, it says.

No land will remain idle in the next year, the city is adamant about. It plans to float these reclaimed plots back for lease as well as take measures on the rest. This is a laudable position, if it is actually implemented.

No one would debate the need for the proper administration of land and its usage in a timely manner, especially when it comes to real estate development in a city like Addis Abeba where housing is one of the major problems.

While the notion behind the recent move by the city might be well intentioned, the manner in which it was done and the current situation with land and the developers who have taken them begs the question, “Why these 34?”

There are developers in the city, real estate or otherwise, who have taken land from the city administration and are just sitting idle with the properties fenced off, it is no secret. How, therefore, can these people claim that they either have started construction or were delayed because the city administration was unable to do its part in ensuring that they got the land and proper facilities?

Those who make the plans and those who report to the higher-ups are not on the same page, it seems. Land related issues cover an area where corruption and influence often rear their ugly heads. It is one of the areas where corruption is rife and good governance lacking, the Prime Minister admitted in his address to stakeholders, three days ago.

Those who are on the ground, checking up on who has done what, may be prejudiced in their reports on which developers are actually doing work and which are just dillydallying around, it seems.

Otherwise, how could the city administration be making an arbitrary decision on only 34 developers and not the rest? There are lots of plots just lying barren, some with hardly a fence around them, one can easily observe after venturing out to the vast tracts allocated for development on the outskirts of Addis Abeba. This can also be seen in certain pockets of the city.

The city administration has a track record of starting something en mass and not seeing it through. A good example is the huge land giveaway in 2005 and 2006, which was not followed through with close supervision of the subsequent situations and activities on the plots.

This seems to have happened again. The city administration, caught up in the fever of the Growth and Transformation Plan’s lofty goals, seems to be on another path like the one five years ago. A lack of consideration of all of the aspects of the job seems to have occurred again.

No one in their right mind would want to see a potential piece of property just sitting idle, as the city seems to agree with. However, a well-rounded approach rather than spur-of-the-moment action would do well in the long run.

The housing problem in the capital is a big one. At the current rate of growth, at least 750,000 residences have to be built every year to meet the growing demand, according to industry experts.

Anyone who is serious about venturing into real estate development would not take a plot and just sit idly, given this reality. A close look at the whole sector and its problems by the city administration is needed. In fact, the city administration should be following closely the situations to solve any problems developers have, so that they can complete their projects.

In doing that, on top of solving the problems of the developers, the administration would also be able to weed out those who take land without doing anything on it. Most importantly, a well coordinated approach by every department of the city administration is required.

So far, the city has shown its willingness to assess the situation of those who have complained about the decision to reclaim their plots, but this is not enough. The administration needs to address its policies and the criteria that it uses to reclaim lands. Simply picking out a few from the bunch does not mean that a job is being done. If it has to be done, as well it should, the administration has to take measures on all developers who are not developing their plots as they should, with close scrutiny of each case and not en mass and arbitrarily, as it has done.

Close scrutiny of its own departments and personnel is also very important. As it is easy for developers to manipulate those on the ground who are doing the leg work to ensure who is legitimate and who is not, a redundant process is also required.

Most of all, the on and off attitude of the city administration, especially when it comes to land administration, needs to stop. All aspects of the administration of land has to be coordinated and well thought out, starting from leasing, relocating, compensating, and delivering the land to supervising its development.

It is time that the administration learns from its past mistakes and gets its act together.