Landlord, tenants Bill in offing

Dec 22, 2009

The Government is in the final stages of developing the Landlord-Tenants Bill, housing state minister Michael Werikhe has said.

By Francis Emorut

The Government is in the final stages of developing the Landlord-Tenants Bill, housing state minister Michael Werikhe has said.

“It is believed that the Bill will go a long way in settling conflicts involving landlords and tenants,” Werikhe told participants at a workshop on the plight of the urban poor and the increasing rural-urban migration in Kampala on Wednesday.

Parliament recently passed the Land Bill to curb rampant evictions.

Werikhe also disclosed that civil servants are to acquire houses through the public servants housing scheme during the next financial year.

“The objective of this scheme is to provide public servants with decent and affordable housing,” he said.

Werikhe disclosed that the project requires sh50b, of which the Government has secured sh12b.

He also told participants that the Government was working towards the implementation of the Condominium Property Act, which enables the ownership of joined properties like residential flats.

Werikhe added that the policy encourages developers to build sectional properties that lead to optimal utilisation of land.

He told participants that the Government had chosen the upgrading of slums as one of the key activities in the five-year national development plan beginning 2010.

According to a survey carried out by John Paul II Justice and Peace Centre, 50% of people living in Kampala are slum dwellers.

The slums include Kisenyi, Kasubi, Katwe, Katanga, Bwaise, Kivulu, Nakulabye, Wabigalo, and Nsambya Gogonya. Others are Nsambya Kamwanyi, Naguru II and Namuwongo.

“The living conditions in slums are appaling and the slums need urgent attention,” said Ankunda Kamba, a sociologist in the lands, housing and urban development ministry.

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