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By
Richard Mize |
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Some
body asked me what I knew about real estate in Afghanistan. My
answer? Nothing. except
that most of it has been mined and a bunch of it have been blown
up.
It got me to thinking, though.
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The civilized
world started talking about how to rebuild Afghanistan and
reconstruct its economy before th~... bombs had hardly begun
dropping over there. Surely, I thought, there is plenty on
the Internet about property ownership and laws pertaining
to it, at least before the Soviet invasion in 1979. Nope.
Not even online encyclopedias address the topic. Hmm, I thought,
surely somebody whose business is economic development in
that part of the world would have such information at their
fingertips.
So, I wrote to the Asian Development Bank, an international
financial institution "dedicated to reducing poverty
in Asia and the Pacific. The Asian Development Bank loaned
$5.8 billion to developing nations last year. mainly to bolster
agriculture and rural development. My e-mailed request sought
"information on the following, pre1979(?): Laws or customs
pertaining to individual property rights, title, etc. Laws
or customs pertaining to collective property, title, etc.
Who buys, who sells, who records, etc., etc., land and housing
and commercial buildings.
Note: You can't tell it from the images on television, but
there is. or was, some industry in Afghanistan. datin to the
1960s, cement, textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer.
Presumably then, there is. or was. some for of "commercial
property. And ,even mud huts are "residential property.
An assistant in the Asian Development Bank's office of external
relations wrote back "This is a rather unusual request.
I have referred your query to a legal colleague
The fact that it was seen as an "unusual request says
a lot. Has it been so long since there was anythin approaching
modernity in Afghanistan that such basic information is deernec
unimportant. Who owns what over there?
Is it feudal? Is the land held in common? What about improvements?
Are there tribal holdings? Is land held b separate bands within
a tribe? Afghanistan tried to Westernize in fits and starts
over the past century Was Ian. held in common ever allotted
to individuals? Is there any concept of individual title?
Why does it matter?
Anyone interested in building Afghanistan's economy for the
long term. not just immediate needs with immediate assistance.
should know something about property rights, especially it
the United Stains is involv
13 the cconstructiofl. which it most assuredly will be.
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