Plan Land Utilization

FORMER PRESIDENT Godfrey Binaisa is reported to have questioned the wisdom of Baganda selling their land.Binaisa was a guest at the weekend celebrations of the 90th birthday of Canon Polycarp Kakooza, a Buganda establishment figure. He is reported to have said that selling land would make the Kabaka and the Mengo government lose power.Unless the land he is referring to is the Kabaka’s, which earns the monarch and Mengo substantial revenues, and should therefore remain firmly in those hands, Baganda should be guided on how to optimally exploit the land. They should not be discouraged on supposedly nationalistic grounds that are in reality atavistic.There is a xenophobic tendency creeping into the mindset of various individuals in different communities. The like-minded tend to get together and present their xenophobic views as representative of the community.Buganda has traditionally been very accommodating of other communities, be they Ugandan from other parts of the country or foreign. The benefits of this openness are vast, including investment, cultural amalgamation, exposure to modern concepts, all of which have enhanced the development of the community and the country.And, of course, Ugandans are constitutionally free to own property anywhere in the country as long as it is acquired legitimately. It is true that there are vast tracts of unutilised land in Buganda, as elsewhere in Uganda. What are needed are strategies to exploit the land. Some individuals can be encouraged to sell some or all and invest the proceeds elsewhere. Others can be given guidance on operating collectively, or leasing. These are noble ideals that can be handled not through jingoism, but systematically. The Kabaka, Binaisa and many more luminaries are well placed to take the lead. Ends