Examining the Tension between Land Acquisition and Developers’ Rights in Ethiopia’s Special Economic Zones:

The Case of Gadaa SEZ

Abstract

This study examines the legal framework and land acquisition procedures for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Ethiopia using the Gadaa SEZ as a case study. It employs a qualitative legal methodology to trace the continuum of law that transforms land from a smallholder’s livelihood base into a developer’s securitized asset. The article explains how ‘land acquisition procedure and developers’ rights’ in Ethiopia’s Special Economic Zones are legally managed in conformity with smallholders constitutional mandated rights. It exposes the functional design of this system creating a legal enclave of exception which severs accountability between beneficiaries and displaced communities. It also constructs a hierarchy between financialised leaseholds and extinguished social rights, and risks hollowing out state regulatory power. The findings of the study reveal inherent contradictions between Ethiopia's constitutional land values and its SEZ policy. The study offers insight on how law facilitates dispossession through more than just violations, but also through how it is structured and operated.