Fight corruption in the Land Registry
Jan 18, 2010
<i>By Eseza Byakika</i><br><br>The President, in his New Year message, stated that 2010 is a year of zero-tolerance to corruption. The land registration department should be priority.
By Eseza Byakika
The President, in his New Year message, stated that 2010 is a year of zero-tolerance to corruption. The land registration department should be priority.
The corruption in the Land Registry is a tragedy to our country! My father passed away in 1997 and left us properties which he acquired way back in 1969. However, last year, I discovered that one Winfred Najjuko had obtained a certificate of title to our land located on Block 14, Plot 401, at Kibuga in Najjanankumbi.
I quickly approached the Land Registry and found that a special instrument of transfer had been issued to Najjuko.
There was also a sale agreement purportedly signed by my late father in 2008. Imagine the dead signing!
I was told to produce the original title, according to my claim, which I did. To my dismay, one of the commissioners responded to me in a letter, saying she noted that a special certificate of title had been issued for the above land under instrument KLA 381352 of July 10, 2008. Subsequently, a transfer was effected to Najjuuko under instrument KLA23938 of 28/07/2009. Unfortunately, she indicated that she had failed to trace the said instruments from the register and, therefore, in the circumstances, she could not authenticate my claim of the transfer and the title being fraudulent.
She advised me to pursue other means, to lay my claim.
In a system where individuals are supposed to be held accountable for their actions and performance, how could the commissioner fail to ask the responsible officers to trace the instruments of transfer?
This calls for serious disciplinary action and immediate investigations. A transfer done in July 2008 and getting lost in November 2009 would raise lots of questions, but this seemed normal business to the commissioner.
Later, the commissioner wrote a letter to Najjuko requesting her to avail the special certificate of title and a copy of the transfer upon which she was registered as the proprietor.
Fellow Ugandans, are we safe with the custodian of our precious assets like certificates of title of land? Many helpless people have fallen victim to this mismanagement in the land registration department and have lost their properties.
Are we allowing this dirt to continue? Isn’t the above case among the many that have proved beyond reasonable doubt that the employees in that department are not performing their duties and should face disciplinary action or be dismissed? Why is it difficult to discipline these employees in the land registration department? What is keeping them there with all the stories about them?
The lasting solution to this department is a total overhaul of the employees and systems.
We have professionals in this country capable of designing unique systems that can capture certificates of titles and eliminate possibilities of fraud or mismanagement.
We also have professional managers who can improve the conduct of the employees in that department. If the President was serious about eliminating corruption in this country, he should start with the Land Registry.
I am willing to provide free professional assistance. Land is a valuable asset worldwide. It should be managed in a more transparent, fair and accountable manner by the people in the responsible offices. Only that can make Uganda a better country.
The writer is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development UK
The President, in his New Year message, stated that 2010 is a year of zero-tolerance to corruption. The land registration department should be priority.
The corruption in the Land Registry is a tragedy to our country! My father passed away in 1997 and left us properties which he acquired way back in 1969. However, last year, I discovered that one Winfred Najjuko had obtained a certificate of title to our land located on Block 14, Plot 401, at Kibuga in Najjanankumbi.
I quickly approached the Land Registry and found that a special instrument of transfer had been issued to Najjuko.
There was also a sale agreement purportedly signed by my late father in 2008. Imagine the dead signing!
I was told to produce the original title, according to my claim, which I did. To my dismay, one of the commissioners responded to me in a letter, saying she noted that a special certificate of title had been issued for the above land under instrument KLA 381352 of July 10, 2008. Subsequently, a transfer was effected to Najjuuko under instrument KLA23938 of 28/07/2009. Unfortunately, she indicated that she had failed to trace the said instruments from the register and, therefore, in the circumstances, she could not authenticate my claim of the transfer and the title being fraudulent.
She advised me to pursue other means, to lay my claim.
In a system where individuals are supposed to be held accountable for their actions and performance, how could the commissioner fail to ask the responsible officers to trace the instruments of transfer?
This calls for serious disciplinary action and immediate investigations. A transfer done in July 2008 and getting lost in November 2009 would raise lots of questions, but this seemed normal business to the commissioner.
Later, the commissioner wrote a letter to Najjuko requesting her to avail the special certificate of title and a copy of the transfer upon which she was registered as the proprietor.
Fellow Ugandans, are we safe with the custodian of our precious assets like certificates of title of land? Many helpless people have fallen victim to this mismanagement in the land registration department and have lost their properties.
Are we allowing this dirt to continue? Isn’t the above case among the many that have proved beyond reasonable doubt that the employees in that department are not performing their duties and should face disciplinary action or be dismissed? Why is it difficult to discipline these employees in the land registration department? What is keeping them there with all the stories about them?
The lasting solution to this department is a total overhaul of the employees and systems.
We have professionals in this country capable of designing unique systems that can capture certificates of titles and eliminate possibilities of fraud or mismanagement.
We also have professional managers who can improve the conduct of the employees in that department. If the President was serious about eliminating corruption in this country, he should start with the Land Registry.
I am willing to provide free professional assistance. Land is a valuable asset worldwide. It should be managed in a more transparent, fair and accountable manner by the people in the responsible offices. Only that can make Uganda a better country.
The writer is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development UK