District land board could soon close

The government will soon table an amendment to the law that established Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to give the authority control over the land currently managed by the Kampala District Land Board, the Daily Monitor has learnt.

The amendment is meant to end a long-standing disagreement between the executive director, Ms Jennifer Musisi, and the Kampala District Land Board (KDLB), particularly its chairperson, Mr Yusuf Nsibambi.
On assuming office in April 2011, Ms Musisi wanted to take over the land managed by KDLB, arguing that since Kampala was no longer a district, it could not have a district land board.

But Mr Nsibambi argued that land boards are entrenched in the Constitution to manage public land, and disbanding KDLB would require amending the Constitution.

Proposed amendments
The proposed modification of the Land Act 2012, a draft of which the Daily Monitor has seen, says the government wants to form a new body to take over land management in Kampala.

Members of the new body, to be called Kampala Capital City Land Board, will be appointed by the minister of Lands on the recommendation of the executive director and with the approval of the authority. Under the current arrangement, members of the board are voted for at division level and then by the council.

Cabinet sources told the Daily Monitor that the amendment will be tabled to Parliament soon. Attorney General Peter Nyombi acknowledged the proposal but said he needed to consult with the minister for the Presidency to see whether it is ready for tabling.

But all the procedures required for the tabling the amendment, such as a certificate of financial implications from the minister of Finance and certificate of clearance from the first parliamentary council, have been finalised.