Raymond Baguma
1 July 2009
Kampala — THE Ministry of Lands has stopped the issuing of land titles in 18 districts, including Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono, following the expiry of the district land boards.
"The ministry has suspended issuance of new land titles and extensions until the district land boards provide all minutes since the boards were established," Denis Obbo, the spokesperson of the ministry, said in a statement yesterday.
District land boards are appointed by the district councils for a period of five years, renewable only once.
The members' names are forwarded to the Minister of Lands for approval. However, many districts have failed to do so.
"We have reminded the district councils to elect new board members and they have not taken it serious," Obbo said.
He further explained that district land boards are obliged to submit certified minutes of all their district land board proceedings to the ministry as a way of fighting land fraud and forgeries of land titles.
However, only Sironko district has complied with the requirement.
"People have been presenting forged minutes to us. So, we have asked the districts to forward certified minutes of the meetings."
The affected districts are Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono, Nakasongola and Mubende in central Uganda. In the east, Busia, Nakapiripirit, Kaberamaido and Moroto have not complied.
In northern Uganda, the affected districts are Lira and Yumbe, and Kisoro, Kibaale, Kamwenge and Kabarole in western Uganda.
Obbo told The New Vision that no land titles can be issued for the new districts of Abim, Bukedea and Nyadri since they have not yet constituted land boards. The mandate of some district land boards expired months ago.
Kampala's district land board expired on May 31; while that of Mukono ceased to exist on May 3. The district land board of Yumbe outlived its life-span on January 21, 2008.
Obbo said as a result of their failure to meet the requirement, the ministry could not extend leases on land, carry out new leases or give freehold titles in the 18 districts.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
