The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Compensation for land often swallows huge sums. For instance, up to Shs30 billion was put aside for about 400 Project Affected Persons (PAPs) of the second phase of the Kampala Northern Bypass Highway starts. This phase is expected to cost 60 million Euros (Approx. Shs260 billion). During construction of the first phase of the 23Km Bypass, compensation of PAPs added Shs20 billion or 18% to the Shs110 billion spent.
In another case, UNRA budgeted Shs100 billion to compensate about 700 PAPs on the 51km Entebbe-Kampala Expressway.
In Buseruka, Hoima district, where government plans to construct a refinery, government spent about Shs 80 billion on PAPs.
Other major projects like the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), planned oil pipeline, power dams like the 600MW Karuma Hydropower Dam under construction, and major mining projects like the $ 620 million Sukuru project also have major budget components for compensation. Apart from hogging a lot of cash off the project budgets, the compensation issues often attract major controversies that often cast government in bad light and also delay these projects.
President Museveni now sounds tired of these delays.
“Do not delay any project,” he told officials as he read the State of the nation address, “A request for investment should not take more than two days. Why should it? The investor has already made his or her calculation. It is his or her money. Why the delay?”
He added: “I will simply not tolerate any delay of more than two days.”
In October 2014, in the same spirit, President Museveni said the government would change the Mining Act to allow intending investors in the mining industry to access private land that contains minerals without negotiating with the land owners.
President Museveni has also in the past faced stiff resistance while trying to give land to investors. Amove to award Mabira forest land to sugar producer, Mehta, sparked off widespread riots in the mid 2000s. For years, Museveni also battled with locals to parcel out 40,000 hectares of the land in Amuru to sugar manufacturer Madhvani but in vain.
Other cases where investors have been given land like the Kaweeri Coffee investors, the New Forest company investors both in Mubende and the Bidco investors in Kalangala have equally attracted local and international backlash. The Kaweeri case in particular attracted a case that remains unresolved over 10 years later and whose victims remain uncompensated.
Part of Museveni’s problem, observers say, is down to the fact that most of the land grabs have been carried out to give way for the foreign investment that the government badly yearns for—it comes with better technology, high yields, high capital investments and taxes.
However, The Land Grabbers: The New Fight Over Who Owns The Earth, a 2012 book by Fred Pearce attributes the land take-overs by foreigners to the neglect of agriculture by theAfrican governments.
Pearce notes: “Their [African governments] desire for a quick fix to deep—seated problems makes foreign investors with their big promises attractive. Many governments ask few questions when investors come calling. They clear land of existing inhabitants, and often do not even ask for rent. There is often an unspoken cultural cringe, in which foreign is always considered best. The investment, ministers believe, will inevitably bring food and jobs to their people. But such easy assurances rarely work out, for reasons that are social, environmental, economic, and geopolitical—and sometimes a toxic mix of all the four.”
But Bullisa legislator Stephen Mukitale, who has been a member of parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure, which oversees the Lands Ministry, says that all these concerns over land are down to poor planning. He told The Independent that it is unfortunate that this whole debate is starting from compulsory acquisition yet the better way should be discussing a land policy.
“What land policy do we want to have,” he said, “Do we want to be owners or users. That should be the debate.”
He believes that such a policy needs to be well thought out and should bring on board different stakeholders, the kingdoms, church, among others.
Mukitale says that the land sector in Uganda has been affected by poor planning, poor funding and poor regulation.
“Why should we have government entities issuing titles on land which has been gazetted for certain developments?” he wondered. He said that the government also seems not to be clear about what it wants. “We are talking about attaining the middle income status but we are clinging on to peasantry,” Mukitale said, “The same government that is calling for large scale investment. Which large scale investment will you attract on encumbered land?”
He told The Independent that the way Kyankwanzi has gone about it is wrong.
“This shouldn’t be getting pushed to cabinet,” Mukitale said, “it should start with a national debate.”
As the debate rages, Museveni has warned that land owners will lose their rights over land found to be rich in minerals. A
t the same time, he has said if residents of Amuru district allow the Madhvani sugar plantation barons to acquire 40,000 acres, they will get shares in the sugar plant and sold 60 acres of land in Kampala to the Aga Khan for US$100 while giving Chinese investor 2,500 acres in Luweero free of charge.
The land give-aways, land sales, and land grabs make it almost impossible to know what the government’s policy regarding land for investors is. And that is the problem.
****
editor@independent.co.ug
“This means that developments can go on as negotiations for compensation are also ongoing.”
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN??
its like saying, ” let me buy your house, kick you out and start using it, let me start enjoying the benefits from it while we negotiate the price and payment.”