Oxfam says government wrong on land

Poverty, land and inequality 

According to the report, the increase in poverty levels is directly linked to land, which is both a generator and a store of wealth. It says that people providing paid agricultural labour and those in subsistence farming are more likely to be poor than those whose main income is commercial farming or other nonagricultural enterprise.

It adds that the use of land also has an impact on households that are not directly dependent on land-based activities. This is through the production of food, export revenues, and industrial production that influence the price levels and value of real income. In addition, the report says that the poor also lack the skills, knowledge and access to capital necessary to improve productivity.

Related to this, according to the report, it is challenging for women – a group that is increasingly contributing to wealth creation to use land for growth purposes. This is because, generally, land is handed down from father to son.

“If a man has no sons, his brother, nephew or another male relative will inherit,” it reads in part.

It adds that women are legally allowed to buy land, but few have the necessary resources; they typically have only temporary rights over land, linked to their relationship with their father or husband.

Recommendations

The report says there should be better land policies, that address the inequalities rooted in history to resolve cultures and attitudes that lock the poorest and most vulnerable from accessing land. There is need for more inclusive and progressive customs.

The Succession Amendment Bill and the Marriage and Divorce Bill should be passed into law. In addition, the report says that the government should put the interest of ordinary Ugandans before that of big investors. Dispute resolution mechanisms for land should be strengthened and properly funded. Solutions should be community based and from people who are well trained in gender, social norms and how they affect land rights. People who are compulsorily displaced, should benefit from valuation processes and compensation must be done quickly and be inclusive of both men and women.

Persis Namuganza, the Minister of State for Lands, who launched the report, agreed that the findings in the report were real and that efforts are being made to amend the necessary land laws to deal with them. She said one of the interventions the government is implementing is registering customary land owners in a bid to solve the ownership challenge. She also said district courts are being empowered to handle land conflicts. She added that government would continue to work with CSOs and other land activists to sensitise the public on land matters so as to reduce the inequality gap.

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