UGANDA, Mpererwe | Real Muloodi News | Delays in the processing of titles in government land offices across the country has led to a public outcry. Members of the public who have been left stranded by the delays in processing land transactions are up in arms, appealing to Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) for action to be taken.
In an open letter to the public, Moses Lubuulwa, Director of Luba Properties Limited, claims that despite the implementation of the Uganda National Land Information System (NLIS) to digitise land records, his firm has received feedback from certain land offices to indicate much of the data from old titles has yet to be incorporated into the new system.
Mr Lubuulwa claims the issue is particularly prevalent with private Mailo land titles in Bulemezi County. He says Land on Block 1026 Buleemzi (Kisingiri Land) hasn’t been uploaded onto the new system for over 3 years, which has greatly affected all transactions on the said land.
NLIS integrates land registration, land administration, surveying and mapping, physical planning, property valuation and land records. Provided as a World Bank loan, the total cost of the NLIS is valued at US$66 million, including the construction of Land Zonal Offices established in fulfillment of Government of Uganda policies.
MLHUD says the NLIS has demonstrated substantial improvements in service delivery, accountability, security and cost effectiveness, and that the NLIS has resulted in a significant reduction in backdoor transactions, forgeries and challenges associated with missing land records.
However, Mr Lubuulwa further claims that his clients are still being subjected to corruption at land offices.
“High levels of bribery we’re experiencing at lands offices where “Kintu Kidogo” have exposed our clients to consumer exploitation. We therefore recommend that government revisits the consumer protection land policies and have titles processed in due time,” he says.
Following the constant and unnecessary delays in title processing.
Here's our statement addressing the current situation at different lands offices. #mailoland pic.twitter.com/XdbTa9fjXn
— LUBA PROPERTIES LTD (@Luba_Properties) December 21, 2021
Mr Lubuulwa has also appealed to Uganda Revenue Authority for greater communication on the new development requiring buyers and sellers in land transactions above the 10 million threshold to avail a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). Mr Lubuulwa says the requirement was implemented with very short notice on Uganda Revenue Authority’s part, resulting in additional delays in processing land transactions owing to people not being aware of the requirement.
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