The cabinet held on Friday, April 9 approved seven orders to implement new land law gazetted in June 2021.With over 25 orders, the last cabinet approved 8 of them and they are awaiting for publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.

Below are 7 summarized orders for the new land law:

1.To determine types of servitude and modalities for implementation

This Order states that a landowner should not refuse neighbour’s passage leading to their parcels, not to block water that is naturally flowing through his / her land, not refuse other people to access water from a well found on his or her land. The land owner conveys a servitude of passage if people need a pathway to reach the river or the lake, when there is not any other option. A person who wants a servitude of passage makes a request, in writing, to the landowner, with a copy to the authority of the Cell where the land is located. The authority of the Cell takes decision and notifies the landowner.

2.To determine modalities of using State land by State organs

This Order contains the rights for a state organ to use State land, to enjoy its produce, rent the property thereon, and co-manage the State lands. It contains also obligations of State organs to effectively and efficiently exploit the land under its possession and provide a report accordingly. The order reiterates that the Ministry in charge of lands shall ensure overall management of the State lands and is the competent organ to grant to State organs rights to use State lands and authorise transfer of those rights between them.

3. Prime Minister’s Order Governing Registrars of Land Titles

Compared to the existing Presidential Order N°008/01 of 10/05/2016 determining the functioning and powers of Registrar of Land Titles (currently repealed), a Deputy Chief Registrar of land titles and the Head of Department of land registration are introduced both as Registrars, then the number of Registrars of land titles increased from 6 to 8.

4. Ministerial Order determining modalities for land sublease

This Order determines modalities to sublease the land intended for agriculture, livestock and forest activities. It details the elements of a sublease to guide contracting parties, the sub-lessor and the sub-lessee. For Example, the parties to sublease are required to agree upon activities to be carried out on the subleased land, and will comply with land use consolidation. The termination of sublease may happen on the initiative of one of the contracting parties or by default resulting from the sub-lessee.

5. Ministerial Order governing land committees

This order determines the organization, functioning, responsibilities and members of land committees. The land committee is composed of 5 members with at least 2 of them are females and their term was extended from 3 to 5 years.

6.  Ministerial Order on Land Registration

The Order determines modalities for land registration, formalities for land registration, modalities for cancellation of land registration and format of the land register. The order says that unregistered lands shall provisionally be registered as State land in its private domain until the holder provides the proof attesting his/her rights to the land.

7. Draft Ministerial 0rder determining other infrastructures intended for commercial purposes

The current article 12 of new land law listed Infrastructures intended for commercial purposes but this order determines additional infrastructures including transport and telecommunication infrastructures, Water treatment, storage and supply infrastructures, energy and strategic reserve and warehouses, Wastes, sewage treatment and recycling infrastructures as well as Infrastructures for weather and space monitoring.

The Presidential Order establishing national land use and development master plan was gazetted in April 2021, and was revised by the recent approved Presidential Order in order to align it with the new land law.  The new land law was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda in June 2021, orders are provided for its effective implementation.