Gen Caleb Akandwanaho (Salim Saleh) has instituted a non-governmental Land Management Centre that will serve as a land repository of data to provide details about land across the country.
During the official launch of the resource centre offices in Matugga, Gombe Division, Nansana Municipality in Wakiso District on July 3, the brains behind this initiative said, with guidance from their vision bearer-Gen Saleh, they conducted thorough research and documented all parcels of land in Uganda.
Dr John Kigula, a researcher and Gen Saleh’s advisor on land matters, said the primary purpose of this centre is to provide data on land to private individuals, organizations, and relevant government ministries, agencies, and departments as they handle land conflicts to curb all the existing encumbrances.
He said they carried out field research on all the land including wetlands, with their research findings aligning with what is happening on land in different parts of Uganda. This new proposed land bank will bridge the missing link of land information gaps.
“These relevant authorities have not been able to be provided with good information, research products concerning land social frictions, land limitations, and ownership, yet we have the materials,” he said.
The unveiling ceremony of this initiative was officiated by the Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba as the Chief Guest, accompanied by the Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara, among other dignitaries.
Having worked with Gen Saleh for over a decade ago, Dr Kigula said their vision bearer suggested they can put this research into use for the benefit of the public, thus the birth of the resource centre.
“People can come, read and get the digital records to inform their decisions about land,” Dr Kigula said, noting that they are collecting all the available information in both hard copies and soft copies and they will later devise means on how it will be accessed for use.
He added that Gen Saleh wanted to know how best they can support the situation of land conflicts and it was realized that one of the avenues was through systems of negotiated settlements of land disputes.
“It is not always good to take cases to cou
rt due to the delay, high costs which prompt some people to get frustrated and give up and lose their property.”
Citing the sensitivity of land matters, Commissioner for Land Registration Baker Mugaino said in the process of executing their duties in the lands ministry, they cannot work solely, arguing that they need several stakeholders.
“There are people staying in wetlands and unaware of its dangers. When we come out and cancel such titles, they think the government is hating on them which is not true. With this information, they will be able to understand it,” he said.
As the ministry of land embarks on developing a new land policy, research is one of the key elements that inform the policy. Non state actors like the Land Management Centre always have research which the government may be missing and they can use it as feeder ins to formulate a land policy.
In her remarks, Minister Nabakooba hailed Gen Saleh for the great idea, highlighting the great impact this Land Management Centre will create in Uganda. She said the centre resonates with the government’s commitment of strengthening land governance, securing land rights, and promotion of sustainable development.
Nabakooba also commended the founders including Dr Kigula and his team for bringing on board expertise in land administration through this centre which she believes will be a basis of knowledge and information for the land sector.
“We have been working with partners both local and international. Your coming on board is timely because you are adding on to what has been missing,” she said.
She expressed the potential of this Land Management Centre to address historical injustices including those arising from the long-standing disputes in the country.
“Every investment begins with certainty of land. Without reliable land information and secure tenure, developments become very costly, disputes multiply and investment is always slow.”
The minister promised to send her team from the ministry headed by the new minister of state for land Harriet Ntabaazi, to benchmark at the resource centre in Matugga.
“In the ministry, we are supposed to have the registers of all bibanja holders and landlords and we want to start on this immediately across the country, especially on land that is already titled,” she said.
Nansana Municipality Deputy Resident District Commissioner Charles Lwanga applauded Gen Saleh for this initiative and basing the offices in his jurisdiction, arguing that the area is battling a number of land disputes.
He revealed that on several occasions he has handled land matters, he has established that land grabbers use connections from top government officials to jeopardize him in execution of his duties.
“Land grabbers use a lot of money to steal people’s land. Before you can conclude the case, you receive several phone calls threatening you to abandon the matters,” Mr Lwanga said.
He is hopeful that the Matugga Mabanda market land issue where market vendors have been battling disputes with people claiming to be landlords, will be resolved quickly since the office has come in this area.
Gombe Division mayor Hawa Mbabazi Nyindo raised an alarm over people using names of big offices to grab people’s land. She pointed at a team that claims to be from the office of Gen Shaban Lukyamuzi, the head presidential office in charge of land matters, to steal land.
She said the team uses vehicles commonly known as drones to arrest people who resist their orders.
Minister Barugahara said he is also a victim of land conflicts involving a team of tormentors that comes from Gen Lukyamuzi’s office. He said when he bought land in Jinja City, a team of young men who were traveling in a drone abducted his boys he had deployed to guard his property.
“They abducted and blindfolded them. I was forced to ring Gen Lukyamuzi on phone whether he knew about the issue,” he said.
He lauded Gen Saleh for the great initiative, saying this office will act as a harmonization centre.
“Our vision bearer-Gen Saleh has improved investor confidence in Luwero Triangle, when he started Namunkekera Industrial Park which has employed over 50,000 people directly and so many others indirectly across the country,” he said.
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