We must handle land acquisitions carefully

The government’s proposal to amend the Land Act and other relevant laws to enable it give land to investors is likely to run into legal and practical obstacles. Presently, the government can only acquire land after an inquiry has been made in terms of Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act. Any attempt to remove this requirement will lead to suspicions.

In its recent retreat at Kyankwazi, the NRM party executive instructed the relevant minister to introduce amendments to the Land Act to enable the government to implement its projects more easily. In particular, it was argued that this move would enable the government to build 24 industrial parks although their locations were not indicated.

The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has since clarified that the amendment they are working on seeks to remove from the Constitution the condition requiring compensation to be paid prior to the taking of possession.
Article 26 of the Constitution to which the minister referred does not require compensation to be paid before taking of possession or acquisition. Indeed, Section 7(1) of the Land Acquisition Act provides: “Where a declaration has been published in respect of any land, the assessment officer shall take possession of the land as soon as he or she has made his or her award under Section 6 except that he or she may take possession at any time if the minister certifies that it is in the public interest to do so.”

The minister also argued that on many occasions, some people refuse government compensation asking for more money and in the process they delay government projects. Again this argument is irrelevant for Section 6(5)(b) of the same Act provides that “Where a person awarded compensation under this Section refuses to accept payment, the High Court on the application of the Attorney General may order payment to be made into court on such conditions as it thinks appropriate.” No such application has been made by the Attorney General in the last 20 years.
The minister also called in aid the examples of Ghana, India and Kenya “where they have similar land laws as the government is proposing.” Ghana and India’s experiences do not support the government position. Article 18(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees the prompt payment of compensation and the Indian Draft National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill proposes that in every case, land acquisition must take place in a manner that fully protects the interests of landowners and also those whose livelihood depend on the land.

The government will be well advised to consult more widely rather than listening only to technocrats who have a vested interests in this matter. It is known that government has been advised that it can take over mailo land, which is still on the registers of 1908 and 1924 on the ground that these registers were closed. Yet Section 32 of the Registration of Titles Act provides that such registers will only be closed after the land has been brought under the present Act.

Secondly, freehold title deeds have been fraudulently issued where mailo land title deeds still exist and land in areas which the government is likely to acquire has been fraudulently transferred into names of important people. Examples are Kyaggwe Blocks 189 and 191, which have been completely obliterated. There is, therefore, more to the proposed compulsory land acquisition than meets the eye.

Land has economic, social and cultural significance and is a source of pride to individuals, families and clans. We must be very careful how we handle it.
Mr Mulira is a lawyer. [email protected]