harmonises the existing legal framework with the aspirations of the Malawi National Land Policy 2002 (MNLP). Customary Land Act 2016 32. This is the main Act in customary land administration and management in Malawi. The Act provides for registration of customary land in the form of customary estate. The most important aspect regarding the creation of customary estate is that an individual will now be able to own land in his or her own right thereby having a guaranteed tenure security. Again, a customary estate shall be of an indefinite period/duration, inheritable and transmissible by will. With the creation of a customary estate under the new Customary Land Act, an individual, either man or woman will be registered as the owner of the land which in turn can be used to create a lease or sub-lease. 33. The Act also makes provision for the establishment of Land Committees which are responsible for the management of all customary land in a Traditional Land Management Area. The committees are comprised of a Group Village Headman who shall be the chairperson and six other persons elected by and from within the community, at least three of whom shall be women. Physical Planning Act 2016 34. This is an Act to make provision for physical planning and the orderly and progressive development of land in both urban and rural areas; to preserve and improve amenities thereof; for the grant of permission to develop land and for other powers of control over the use of land; for the establishment of the Physical Planning Council; for the establishment of the Physical Planners Board; for the registration and regulation of physical planners. 35. The Act reaffirms the Malawi Land Policy Recommendation of declaring the whole Malawi a “planning area”. The aims of regulating land use and location of physical developments are to enhance orderly spatial physical growth of human settlements activities, to enhance optimum use of land and service infrastructures, and to protect and conserve fragile environmental systems. These objectives are achieved by guiding physical developments, and controlling building uses in designated zones with regulated 8