The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Cultural leaders and elders have asked the government to put in place a national registry for customary land tenure in order to guarantee its security.
Currently, customary land is being registered by sub county chiefs as opposed to other tenures such as mailo, leasehold and freehold whose national registry is maintained by the Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development.
Now, a section of cultural leaders want government to create a national registry so that their land is well documented.
Dickens Washir, the Lands minister under Lango Cultural foundation says that customary land tenure is threatened because its registration does not guarantee substantial security to the owners.
He said a valuable document such as registration certificate for land should not be kept at the sub county because it’s at risk to damage.
Teso Cultural Union Lands Minister, Steven Enokokin wants the government to recognize this tenure and empower the community to demarcate land boundaries using trees.
The Kaabong LCV chairperson, Mark Abuku welcomes the proposal saying most of the sub-county chiefs and Area Land committees are not conversant with the necessary procedures of customary land registration.
He says this has negatively affected the issuance of customary land titles in areas where this land tenure is binding.
The cultural leaders were speaking during a joint sector review at the office of the president on Thursday under the theme: Industrialization and Job Creation through Planned Land Use and Tenure Security.
The State Minister for Lands Princess Persis Namuganza, however, said her ministry issues customary land certificates but a senior official in the ministry denied her claims saying registration is being done by sub counties with the approval of the Area Land Committees and the district land board.
Registration of customary land tenure under the Certificate Customary Ownership is not captured in the National Land Information system.
Trocare, an overseas development agency of the Catholic Church, reports that this raises more concerns about its apparent inferiority to other land tenure systems, thus its non-acceptance by the financial institutions.
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