Milton Olupot
11 November 2007
Kampala — PRIME Minister Prof. Apollo Nsibambi has warned the Lukiiko (parliament) of Buganda not to take a confrontational approach on land issues.
Nsibambi was reacting to a letter by the acting Katikkiro (premier), Emmanuel Ssendaula, and resolutions passed by the Lukiiko rejecting the proposed land amendments.
In his five-page reply, Nsibambi said the document, which was discussed by the Lukiiko, was a draft, intended for consultation within the Government and public hearings in Parliament.
He also blamed the Lukiiko for ignoring the problem of evicting tenants and for failing to propose viable solutions to the problem.
"Since I am a landlord, let me indicate to you how I have solved the conflicts between my lawful tenants and myself," he wrote.
"I have allowed tenants to acquire permanently 40% of my land and I have remained with 60%. Alternatively, I have allowed lawful tenants to buy my land so that they can own it fully and transfer it in their names."
The third mistake, he said, was the Buganda claim that there was a systematic move by the Government to deny the return of all the land that was confiscated by Obote's government and create a situation where registered proprietors of land in Buganda would lose their ownership.
He explained that before 1967, the disputed 9,000 square miles were vested in the Buganda land board. Since 1995, the same land has been vested in the district land board.
"Therefore, the demand by the Lukiiko for the return of the 9,000 square miles means the re-vesting of the land currently under the district land boards in the Buganda land board."
For this to happen, he added, a legally constituted Buganda Land Board must be in existence." He proposed that the Lukiiko invokes the provisions in the constitution to set up a Buganda land board, whose functions would include coordination, monitoring and planning of land use in the region
As a sign of goodwill, he said, the central government had handed back Masaka Technical Institute and several other properties, including the Buganda court building, the Kabaka's lake, the Bulange, the Lubiri at Mengo and the Butikkiro.
"Furthermore, I assisted you to ensure that Mutesa I Royal University obtained a provisional license. Indeed, I donated 1,000 personal books to the Royal University," Nsibambi wrote.
He also reminded the acting Katikkiro that the President had donated sh50m to the rehabilitation of Mengo Palace, while he donated sh2m.
On the issue of the herdsmen, he pointed out that a select committee of arliament was probing the matter. He also noted that according to the law, people could not move livestock without permits.
"Anybody who notices illegal movement should report the perpetrators to the Police or the RDCs."
He also denied that the draft policy contained a proposal to abolish Mailo land tenure, held in perpetuity, and replace it with leasehold tenure, land held for a limited time frame.
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