Landlords scramble for Source of the Nile project deals

A section of smallholder landowners in the Source of the Nile redevelopment corridor are open to cashing in from the government.

The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities last month kicked off an ambitious project to turn the Source of the Nile and its surrounding environs into an international tourism destination. The plan involves the acquisition of 164 acres of land for which the government will compensate the current titleholders.

Tourism ministry permanent secretary Doreen Katusiime said the project area covers the land 10km downstream from the Source and stretches 400m from either side of the riverbanks.

“From my observation, the lower class wants the money,” said Mr Kima Makanga, the LC1 chairman for Kimaka Cell in Jinja City.

“Those of the upper class look like they want to be part of the project. They asked to meet the minister face-to-face.”

A resident of Bujowali in Njeru Municipality told this publication she was “afraid resisting the government is impossible”, and that this leaves those who cannot fight with little option.

“But the money must be worth it,” she said, asking not to be named because her “stand is not final”.

“I don’t want to be misunderstood, there are many sides involved,” she added.

The kind of wariness was confirmed by Mr Geoffrey Jokwongo, the Amber Court Cell chairperson, who said the issue has divided many landowners already.

“If you were to attend the meeting with the commissioner, deputy resident district commissioner and other stakeholders like Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi, you would notice the dissenting voices,” Mr Jokwongo said.

He added: “Another group was vocal and another silent; the latter group looked like they were interested in the money.”

However, Mr Emmanuel Mudali, the secretary of the landowners’ resistance umbrella, the River Nile Land Grabbing Resistance Frontier (RNLGRF), said dwellers in the villages between Buwenda and Bujagali are susceptible to manipulation.

Vulnerable households

“That corridor, much like the Naminya-Kikubamutwe corridor, has many vulnerable households already subdued by existential challenges of life,” Mr Mudali, whose loose grouping of landowners has petitioned court to stop the government from pursuing the compulsory land acquisition at the Source, said.

“They are a soft target that whoever is at the forefront of this inhumane scheme will capitalise on. The bulk of the riverbank has been settled by expatriates who are active members of RNLGRF and are vehemently opposed to the scheme.”

He said RNLGRF has so far registered 15,000 members.

On the fears among some landowners, Mr Mudali said their group was not opposed to a universal principle of willing-buyer-willing-seller.

Landowners believe that the government will offer a flat Shs250m per raw acre of land.  But Mr Kosea Wambaka, the director of Strategic Friends International (SFI), the project contractor, said the land values that were given in the master plan were for that particular year.  The master plan was drawn three years ago.

“Values have since changed,” Mr Wambaka said, “The reason we are doing a resettlement action plan is because we want as well to ascertain the correct value of developments and land and ownership in the corridor so that we advise the government.”

Mr Samuel Gilbert Wandera, aka Mary Kim, a broker with Bujagali Property Agency, said depending on the location, Shs250m would be good value for any raw acre of land.

“Land near the Nile is more expensive and the Jinja side is more expensive than Njeru,” said Mr Ronald Okori, a broker who operates from Njeru.

Mr Wandera said in Buwenda off Amber Court Road, for instance, an acre of land goes for between Shs300m and Shs400m for land with a title that spreads to the riverbank.

“The one which doesn’t reach the riverbank in the same locality goes for between Shs100m and Shs160m with title,” he said.

However, Mr Wandera was adamant the project would be too big for the government to undertake if owners of the entire swath of land in the mapped corridor were to be compensated.  Jinja and Buikwe districts, he said, have many expatriates living along the riverbanks. This has led to a hike in the prices of land.