LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONSULTATIVE BUDGET
FRAMEWORK PAPER WORKSHOPS FOR FY 2014/15

ISSUE:
Inadequate funds for the District Land Boards to operate as the law demands.
Response
The Ministry is cognizant of the likely long term negative impact of underfunding of the District
Land Boards (DLBs) and has brought the matter the attention of the MoFPED and other relevant authorities to revise the IPFs for the DLBs.

I SSUE : T HERE WERE CONCERNS THAT THE DLB S WERE ILLEGALLY
SELLING ALMOST EVERYTHING
(
PUBLIC OPEN PLACES
,
GREEN
BELTS ETC ) RESERVED FOR PUBLIC USE OR WHICH BELONGS TO
G
OVERNMENT OR TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT CONSIDERATION TO
THE EXISTING NATIONAL POLICIES OR DISTRICT COUNCIL
M UNICIPAL COUNCIL POLICIES IN PLACE




Response
Government land is managed by ULC. It is illegal for DLBs to give out such land. Such transactions are not recognized in the law.
The Ministry has trained a number of DLBs about their duties and responsibilities and are not expected to operate outside what the limits of what law provides
Before an application is taken to the DLB there should be evidence that the physical planning committee approved it by way of a minute. Physical planning Act declared the entire country a planning area therefore the law does not apply only to urban authorities.
The other option is to any aggrieved party to take a legal action against any DLB since they are legal entities which can sue or be sued.

D ELAYS IN APPROVAL OF SOME MEMBERS
OF THE D ISTRICT L AND B OARDS
Response



The Ministry has always endeavored to approve the
DLBs in time for whose members conform to the minimum requirements as enshrined in the Land Act,
Cap 227, section 57
Delays emanate from non-compliance by the District
Councils with what the law prescribes or when petitions against certain names are received; in such circumstances, districts are usually informed of the reason for delayed approvals or rejection.
Care has to always be taken to ensure that appointees and their qualifications complies with the minimum requirements as enshrined in the law

A REA L AND C OMMITTEES (ALC S ) ESPECIALLY IN U RBAN
AREAS SEEM NOT TO ADHERE TO THE PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT PLANS WHILE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS
TO DLB S

Response
Government enacted the Physical Planning Act to streamline matters of physical planning and compliance to land use. Therefore urban authorities should make use of the Act.

The Ministry developed and disseminated physical planning guidelines and regulations to address the same. These can be downloaded from the Ministry website: www.mlhud.go.ug

L
AND TITLING IS CENTRALIZED
&
EXPENSIVE IN OUR COUNTRY
T HERE WERE CONCERNS THAT LAND REGISTRATION WAS A HIGHLY
CENTRALIZED FUNCTION AND PARTICIPANTS CALLED FOR EXPEDITION
OF DECENTRALIZED LAND SERVICES DELIVERY SYSTEMS .

Response
Computerization of the land registry and the decentralized Land Information System (LIS) development will address this concern. Furthermore,
Systematic Land Adjudication and Demarcation which is being piloted in 4 districts of Ntungamo, Iganga,
Mbale and Kibaale to reduce costs of land titling will be rolled out and popularized resources permitting.
Besides, the Ministry Zonal Offices (MZOs) constructed will bring land services delivery nearer to the people instead of sourcing services from the
Kampala Land Office.

D
M
Z
O
:

Operationalization of the MZOs to bring services nearer to the people is underway; the core personnel to man these MZOs were trained.(
Six MZOS are operational – KCCA, Masaka, Mbarara, Wakiso, Jinja
& Mukono) and the headquarters to serve the rest of the country not covered by the above MZOs for the time being.

Property rates not paid to urban councils consultation
Uganda Land Commission (ULC) has persistently failed to clear up property rates arrears to urban councils. Payment of these rates would be one of the sources of revenue to the urban authorities.
Response

With the current funding levels, Uganda Land Commission (ULC) is not in position to pay up property rates to the urban authorities. The
Ministry has brought this matter to authorities and our view that either the ceiling for ULC should be increased to cater for these arrears or a new policy change to require each MDAs to pay up its property rates be adopted.

S TATUS OF G OVERNMENT L AND UNDER U GANDA
L
AND
C
OMMISSION
(ULC)
IN
LG
S IS ASSOCIATED
WITH SOME THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS
ESPECIALLY IN URBAN AREAS WHERE THE DEMAND
FOR LAND IS HIGH :



ULC does not know exactly which pieces of land are they owned, their sizes and location and what belongs to and under control by the DLBs;
That when individuals apply for these pieces of land, ULC neither carries out physical inspections nor consults (local authorities) on physical development plans under which such pieces fall.
The allocations are made by the commission without due consideration for the physical development plans and sometimes, developer’s building plans on such pieces are never submitted to the local authorities for approval.

CONTD…
Response

ULC is carrying an inventory of Government land as a routine activity. There is also a plan to obtain financing from World Bank through
Private Sector Foundation and Ministry of
Lands, Housing and Urban Development for a project to cover the activities. At the end, all land owned by Government will be surveyed and titles prepared for each.

CONTD…


The Land regulations are being amended to make it compulsory for ULC and DLBs to work with the Area Land Committees before allocating any piece of land to any person or developer. It is prudent and advisable the two bodies work closely with each other which apparently is not happening.
Enforcement of the Physical Planning Act will address most issues of non- compliance with the physical plans especially in urban area.

ULC carries out inspection and in upcountry areas, it uses the District land officers and Area
Local Committees to get status quo on particular pieces of land.

SECTOR ISSUES THAT REQUIRE
ATTENTION OF THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT.

Status of the National Land Policy
The National Land policy was approved in February 2013 and gazzeted in August, 2013. The NLP provides government framework for Management and administering of Land
Districts are expected to access and internalize it and start on the process of developing their district land policies. The policy can be accessed from the Ministry Website; hard copies will be disseminated later.

Land information system(LIS)
LIS is fully operational in 6 MZOs
(Wakiso,Masaka,Mbarara,Mukono, Jinja and KCCA),
Entebbe, National Land information center and Ministry headquarters which serves the rest of areas of the country which are not covered by the MZOs. The establishment of the
LIS has streamlined the land transaction processes and minimized on the time taken

CONTD…

District Revenue collection by MZOs
Each District falling under the MZOs is supposed to provide their collection account number so that the revenue collected is paid to that account. Failure to submit the respective accounts will result into the hosting district benefiting from the Revenue.

Land evictions and disputes:
The Ministry continues to receive reports of illegal land evictions out of distributes between land lords and tenants.
The Ministry has tried to mediate with a view of restoring harmony and avoiding landlessness. And sometimes the
Ministry refers the disputes to courts of law or customary dispute resolution institutions.

It is important that the Districts sensitize the people on rights and obligations of land owners and tenants in order to ensure harmonious developments and growth of the economy.

U
S
M
I
D
P
(USMID)


The Government of Uganda through Ministry of lands is implementing a USD 160 Loan project; Uganda
Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development
Program (USMID) in Municipals of Arua, Gulu, Lira
(Northern Uganda); Soroti, Moroto, Mbale, Jinja and
Tororo (Eastern Uganda); Entebbe, Masaka (Central);
Mbarara, Kabale, Fort Portal and Hoima (Western
Uganda).
The project will build urban infrastructure and build institutional capacities of both the MoLHUD and the municipal LGs. The project became effective on 4 th
September, 2013 and was launched on 22 nd , October
2013.


The prototype house plans:
The plans are produced by the Ministry and are in the following categories; Two bedroom house plans, Three bedroom house plan, Various roofing option, Varied spatial; arrangement, self contained and shared wash rooms

They are free of charge and can be accessed from the Ministry Website; District and Municipal physical planner.

Real Estates Policy

The Ministry is developing the Real Estates
Policy to address the challenges of Real Estates
Development. It is at stake holder consultations stage