The Government is going to roll out a national land audit programme with an aim of providing comprehensive information on land ownership, development and utilisation patterns in Uganda.

“The National Land Audit Programme (NLAP) is a countrywide inventory of the various uses of land.

The programme aims to provide comprehensive, accurate and reliable information on land ownership, development and utilisation patterns,” lands minister Judith Nabakooba said.

She made the remarks during an interview with New Vision on Friday at Parliament.

Nabakooba said the objective of NLAP is to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the land governance practices, process controls and systems used for support in managing and utilising land resources.

The minister did not disclose exactly when the land audit programme will kick off, but said it will be during this financial year.

Nabakooba said the programme would involve establishing where government land is and whether it is surveyed, registered or not; which land belongs to faith-based institutions, among others.

“There will be determination of land occupied by tenants, who will be classified as bona fide or lawful; Whether there are absentee landlords and also establish if there is still land which does not belong to any person or authority,” she said.

It would also include looking at the land use compliance and practices and knowing which is occupied and used for agricultural purposes, human settlements, ecological systems and forest cover, wetlands and parks and water bodies, among others.

Asked how much the exercise would cost the Government, she said: “My ministry is soon tabling the proposal to Cabinet for the budget, which requires a gradual roll-out in addition to bringing all stakeholders on board,” the minister said.