What LCs say about the new land policy

* Charles Asiki, the Mayor of Arua Municipality, (Communal ownership)
“Scarcity of land is a very big problem in Arua. We want to carry out more developments in the municipality, but we do not have land. The scarcity is caused by the communal land tenure system. The elders and the communities own the land. They have, however, fragmented it into tiny pieces that cannot be used for any development project. Currently, we are trying to degazette the forest on Arua Hill in order to expand. My view is that a law that allows urban authorities to have power over land, should be put in place.”

* Zedekiah Karokora, the LC5
chairman of Rukungiri
“We have been under leasehold since the 1950s. Leasehold was introduced here by colonialists as a pilot project and it has remained. As local leaders, we do not have problems getting land for development because there is a lot of land gazetted by the government. I think people are afraid of leasehold because they do not understood it.”

* Badru Kabega, the LC5 chairman of Mpigi (Mailo ownership)
“We have had problems getting land for development. For example, there are some hills where we wanted to plant trees, but their owners refused. However, taking away land is not the solution. In Buganda, land is the most valuable property. Passing a legislation that land, which belonged to your great grand father and father, is no longer yours, is a recipe for endless conflicts. Better ways of making land more developed should be adopted.”

* Wilberforce Yaguma, the LC5 chairman of Mbarara
(Mailo, traditional ownership)
“I would prefer a situation where the Government is free to use land as long as it is setting up a project that will benefit the community. I do not support individuals owning land perpetually. This is why we have so many squatters and huge acres of undeveloped land. The Government should take over unused land, whether mailo or not.”

* Asuman Kyafu, the LC5
chairman of Iganga
“Some land owners foil development in an area, sometimes for selfish reasons. We were recently taken to court over the ownership of Iganga Hospital land, where Busesa sub-county is located. These are big institutions in the district. I think if development is to take place, the Government should take over all land. In developed countries like South-Africa, there is no private ownership of land.”

* Christopher Acire, the mayor of Gulu Municipality (Communal ownership)
We have a very big problem as far as land for development is concerned. For example, we wanted to set up a maternity centre, but we failed to get land. This system where people own land, should be scrapped. I propose that as long as an urban council wants to use a certain piece of land for community development, they should be given powers over it.”

* John Ssebaana Kizito,
the former Mayor of Kampala (Mailo Land)
“This is another bad plot to grab people’s land. Yes, there may be problems in getting land for development, but taking away people’s land is not the solution. This land might have been given to a few people in 1900, but it is now owned by millions of people. Taking away the land amounts to daylight robbery. Instead, the Government should help people who have failed to develop their mailo land, to do so.”