Uganda restores land-system access for 90% of transferred ministry staff
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Lands minister Judith Nabakooba told Parliament that access to the National Land Information System has been restored for about 90 per cent of officers affected by recent transfers, after services at 22 zonal offices were disrupted.
Uganda's Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has restored access to the National Land Information System (NLIS) for about 90 per cent of staff affected by recent transfers, after delays in processing land transactions across the country.
Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba told Parliament that the transfers, combined with a review of user access rights, had temporarily disrupted services at the ministry's 22 zonal offices, which handle land registration, surveying, valuation and other transactions.
"Indeed, there was a temporary disruption of services arising from the movement of affected officers from their previous stations to the new ones and the revalidation of user access rights on the National Land Information System," she said. "This situation has since been improving and the revalidated staff as of now are at about 90 percent."
Her statement followed concerns raised by Bbaale County MP Charles Tebandeke during a parliamentary sitting on October 13 over service disruptions at the zonal offices. Nabakooba acknowledged that the delays had inconvenienced landowners, investors, professionals and other members of the public who depend on timely land administration, and said the ministry had not formally suspended operations.
The disruption also delayed government revenue collection from land transactions. The minister said the ministry expects to substantially address the backlog and associated collections before the end of October, adding that "a delay in collection should not automatically be equated with a loss of revenue" because the money due had not been paid to another entity. She did not disclose the number of pending transactions or the amount of revenue whose collection had been delayed.
Nabakooba said the transfers were intended to strengthen accountability, improve service delivery and reduce the risk of undue influence on officers who had served at particular stations for extended periods, citing complaints about delays, unprofessional conduct and allegations that some officers had become susceptible to influence from land dealers, brokers and agents. She said access under the revised arrangements is subject to an authorisation process, with the relevant technical department reviewing the scope of access granted to some registrars of titles.