Uganda gives local governments 14 days to account for public land
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Uganda's lands ministry has given chief administrative officers, town clerks and district land officials two weeks to submit records of government-owned land, as it builds a national inventory of public assets.
Local governments in Uganda have been given 14 days to account for all government-owned land within their jurisdictions as the Ministry of Lands moves to establish a comprehensive national register of public land. The directive requires Chief Administrative Officers, Town Clerks and district land officials to compile and submit detailed records showing the location, ownership status, occupancy and legal documentation of government land.
Minister of State for Lands Harriet Ntabazi issued the directive during a regional stakeholders' workshop on the Comprehensive Government Land Inventory at Hoima Resort Hotel in the Bunyoro sub-region. She directed local authorities to immediately appoint focal persons, provide accurate land records and cooperate with teams conducting field verification.
Ntabazi said the exercise was intended to establish how much land government owns, where it is located, who occupies it and its legal status, to strengthen the management and protection of public assets. "When I assumed office as Minister, the first question I asked was: Where is Government land? Where is the inventory of the land that I am supposed to superintend?" she said.
She said the absence of a comprehensive and authoritative inventory would make it difficult for government to effectively safeguard its land and plan public infrastructure, noting that properly documented government land is critical for projects such as schools, health centres, roads and forests, while also securing land for future generations. Local governments were identified as key players because of their responsibility for identifying and safeguarding public land at the grassroots.
The inventory exercise, spearheaded by the Uganda Land Commission and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, seeks to identify, reclaim, document, register and protect government-owned land across the country. The government expects the resulting national database to improve accountability, guide public investment planning and curb the loss of public land.