Govt asked to cancel land titles on Lake Victoria shores
Entebbe Municipality law enforcement team demolishes structures in the buffer zones on Nambi Road in November 2019. However, some owners of the illegal structures have since reconstructed them. PHOTO / EVE MUGANGA
What you need to know:
- A 2015 report by Nema indicates that the most affected buffer zones have been used for human activity, including construction of permanent structures.
Authorities in Entebbe Municipality have tasked the ministry of Lands to review land titles and leases for developers who acquired land on the shores of Lake Victoria.
They claim that some developers acquired the land fraudulently while others, who possess genuine titles, have extended into the buffer zones, which are supposed to be protected areas.
According to Mr Richard Ssekyondo, the deputy mayor of Entebbe Municipality, the 200 metres, which serve as buffer zones on the shoreline, have been encroached on by developers, which threatens the aquatic life of the lake.
A buffer zone is an area of land designated for environmental protection. According to the National Environment Management Act, any person constructing a permanent structure in a 200-metre buffer zone needs clearance from the government.
“We have made some efforts as local authorities to restore the shores but we have failed because most of the people we approach claim to own land titles. We are, therefore, asking the ministry of Lands to review all their leases and land titles and see whether they acquired the land in a proper way,” Mr Ssekyondo said during an interview on Wednesday.
He said there are guidelines that developers must follow while setting up hotels and beaches but many ignore them.
“All those buffer zones would have been used by fishermen to dock their boats but they have no access. Today, you find one person has raised a perimeter wall or structure stretching to the lake shores, which is illegal,” he said.
The spokesperson of the Lands ministry, Mr Dennis Obbo, advised Entebbe municipal leaders to formally petition the commissioner for land registration over the matter.
“The law is very clear; no land title should be issued in the prohibited area. So whoever is holding such a title is doing so illegally or is holding it in error,” he said.
“We usually advise the owners [of land titles] to return them to the office of the commissioner for review because no one should hold a title in a buffer zone,” Mr Obbo added.
A couple of years ago, Entebbe municipal authorities demolished some illegal walls and structures that stretched through the buffer zones on the shores of Lake Victoria on Nambi Road, but some owners have since reconstructed them.
The National Environment Management Act prohibits construction of permanent structures in buffer zones of a lake, river or wetland.
However, several structures have been constructed on the shorelines in Entebbe Division A, Manyago, Bugonga and Kigungu without clearance from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
Background background
A 2015 report by Nema indicates that the most affected buffer zones have been used for human activity, including construction of permanent structures. With some of the best beaches in the country, Entebbe has in the past two decades become popular for its diverse marine sports and white sands.
