UGANDA, Masaka | Real Muloodi News | Masaka City leaders advocate for a land audit to reduce land disputes in areas such as Nyendo, Kimaanya, Kabonera, Ssaza, Mukungwe, and Masaka City.
Land audit provides detailed information on land ownership, development, and used patterns. The urge for this stems from the fact that a private developer claimed a portion of Nabajjuzi swamp, the main source of piped water to Masaka and another threatened to clear Kumbu Forest Reserve.
Steven Asiimwe, the Resident City Commissioner, states, “I have been here for less than a month, but the land cases I receive are overwhelming. I invite the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to consider an independent land audit in Masaka City to avert situations that may comprise security.”
Mr Asiimwe says investigations revealed that some public properties in the city were sold to private owners without following the proper procedures.
Florence Namayanja, Masaka city mayor, also highlighted that she discovered many irregularities in land acquisition, and several city assets were sold through uncertain land deals.
Florence Namayanja states, “The irregularities we want to investigate include irregular leases, leasing land in wetlands, leisure parks and greenbelts. Some people have since used such pieces of land as collateral and banks have given them loans.”
The city mayor also says that she reported the issue to Judith Nabakooba, Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development.
Denis Bugaya, Buganda Land Board Legal Information Officer, shared his thoughts, stating that they didn’t mind the audit as long as it only focuses on city-owned land.
Denis Bugaya states, “We own a huge chunk of land in Masaka City, but there are no wrangles on our land, city authorities can audit their land but they should not tamper with land owned by other institutions such as Buganda and the Church because they can ably audit theirs.”
The government intends to launch a National Land Audit Programme (NLAP) inventory for various land uses across the country.
According to the Minister of Lands, the program’s goal is to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of land governance practices, process controls, and systems used to assist in managing and using land resources.
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