The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | ActionAid Uganda wants parliament to investigate the cabinet decision allowing investors to mortgage government land allocated to them for use to ensure that it conforms to the existing land laws. On September 22, 2020, the government issued a set of conditions that will be followed by investors who seek to mortgage government land to access funding for their project.
These include among others, that the investors submit applications for the investment land to the agency controlling the land they intend to use with a Memorandum and Articles of Association, a copy of the Certificate of Registration or Certificate of Incorporation, the investment license issued by Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and business plan articulating a detailed project idea.
Once the agency concerned is satisfied with the application, it then writes to the proposed financiers okaying the mortgage application. However, the ActionAid Uganda country director, Arthur Larok says there is need for parliament to ensure that the covenant correlates with the existing land laws in Uganda.
He explained their fears which include, fact that with this approval, investors will now be able to mortgage government land to acquire financial support hence raising serious questions.
Larok calls for a systematic framework for conducting background searches on the profiles of the investors knowing the kind of interests they have and how much of government land is still available at their disposal.
He also calls upon citizens to be cautious and demand for transparency so that they don’t end up as victims of illegal land evictions as investors move to lease their land.
******
URN
