UCI-HIM-Haile-Selassie-I-Wisdom-15-Land-Policy

LAND POLICY

For those of you who possess the land and labour but lack capital, we have made credit available at low interest. For those of
you who have the necessary finance but do not possess land to work on, we have, in accordance with our 'Proclamation'
which entitles every Ethiopian to ownership of land, established offices in every province through which you may be able to
acquire land. Those who have neither land nor money will be granted land and financial loans at low interest. For those of
you who possess land, who have financial resources and manpower, we have made experts available to furnish you with the
necessary guidance and advice in your various undertakings.

Land Reform

The essence of land reform is, while fully respecting the principle of private ownership, the landless people must have the
opportunity to possess their own land, that the position of tenant farmers must be improved, and that the system of taxation
applying to land holdings must be the same for all.

It is our aim that every Ethiopian own his own land, in implementation of this principle. We have ourselves set the example by
ordering that certain lands in Arussi Province heretofore administered by our Ministry of the Imperial Court be distributed to
the tenants working on them, against payment by each man only of the nominal fees charged for the transfer and the
registration of this property in his own name.

This has been the basic objective of virtually every modern programme of land reform; this is the ultimate goal of the study
now being undertaken by the Committee of Land Reform.