KAMPALA: Hon. Judith Nabakooba, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, talked about securing land rights during the Knowledge Exchange Workshop at Imperial Golf View Hotel in Entebbe.
During the workshop attended by various Government Officials, Delegates from African Union, a representative of the European Union and other development partners,
GIZ- representatives from the Global Programme on Responsible Land Policy and the Strengthening Capacities of Land Governance in Africa, Representatives from the Civil Society, Private Sector, Academia, and the Media, Hon. Nabakooba said Uganda has a lot of experiences and lessons to share when it comes to land governance.
She observed that securing of legal land documentation in terms of certificates of ownership and certificates of occupancy has a positive impact on agricultural productivity and income.
“With such land registration opportunities, families have moved from the subsistence economy into the market economy as they have been able to use their certificates to generate income for themselves,” Nabakooba noted.
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Nabakooba also revealed that majority of citizens who benefit from these legal land documentations are women and children. “Having their names appear on the customary land titles or certificates of occupancy guarantees them a future where no one can illegally evict them from the family land they use to derive their livelihoods,” she added.
Also emphasizing that security of ownership has led to reduced gender-based violence within families, Nabakooba said women are now being recognized and respected in their own right as women, regardless of their level of education; as long as they contribute to economic empowerment of their homes.
The workshop that had representatives from over 16 countries was held to greatly benefit the land governance sector.
Despite progress made to address land-related legislative issues, the spectre of land grabs still looms all-over the country.
In Uganda, there are still many evictions, arbitrary land dispossessions, disputes and conflicts across national boundaries, as well as land-related disputes at the household level. These tensions have pervaded ethnic groups and inspired overwhelming uncertainties in land rights.
