A snap survey by this newspaper amongst Members of Parliament shows that the Land Bill will pass if put to the vote in the House, the strong opposition to it notwithstanding.

Although some MPs from the National Resistance Movement party are opposed to the Bill, the ruling party's overwhelming majority in the House, and the caucusing that has taken place in favour of the Bill, are likely to ensure that the Bill is squeezed through.

While supporters of the Bill say it helps protect tenants from illegal evictions, critics argue - and there is merit in the argument - that it only reinforces the duality of rights over land in many parts of the country.

That duality - in which landlords own but can't use the land occupied by tenants, and in which tenants can use land that they do not own - is the problem that should be solved, not set in legal concrete.

While it is being cast as a political problem, this duality is primarily an economic issue, tying up the economic value of land in the stalemate between landlords and tenants.

A more sustainable solution is to assist both tenants and landlords to disentangle from this duality by helping tenants own their holdings through a willing-buyer, willing-seller agreement.

The government has already made the right noises to this effect through the establishment of the Land Fund, but has not matched the rhetoric with the funds needed to facilitate this exercise.

Pushing the Land Bill through offers the government political capital and deals a blow to Buganda Kingdom officials who are some of the most affected individuals but it only postpones the problem. It does not solve it.

Findings of an opinion poll published in this paper this week show that one in two Ugandans does not understand what the Bill is all about.

Unless citizens understand why certain laws are made and what they say, they are unlikely to respect or follow them.

The Land Bill seeks to help tenants survive but only a more sustainable plan, one that sorts out the fundamental question of land ownership and usage, will ensure that both tenants and landlords thrive.