We need to amend land acquisition law, says minister Sam Mayanja

The Minister of State for Lands, Mr Sam Mayanja, has said there is a need to amend the compulsory land acquisition law in order to facilitate government projects which are always stalled due to failure to compensate landowners.

“The law on compulsory land acquisition empowers the government to acquire land in the public interest. However, such acquisition must be preceded by adequate compensation. The implementation of this law has led to delay in projects, increased the cost of implementation of various large scale land investments due to exaggerated claims and disagreement over the value of the land,” he said.

Mr Mayanja made the remarks during the Oxfam high-level parliamentary seminar on the status of land tenure reforms in Kampala.

“In order to balance the interest of the public and the individuals claiming compensation, there is need to amend the law to facilitate the expeditious compulsory acquisition of land by the government to avoid delaying infrastructure and investment projects, while at the same time allowing for persons dissatisfied with the compensation amount to go to court which will later determine the actual amount to be paid,” he said.

Mr Mayanja said the law has led to the government losing huge sums of money in penalties due to delays in the projects.

“The moment you sign those contracts with the World Bank or development partners it will start accruing, you’re penalized for the time you don’t use that money. When a project stalls due to lack of consent from the landowners, it becomes a problem for the government,” he said.

Mr Mayanja said the amendment which is being finalized by the ministry will soon be tabled before the cabinet.

The acting country director OXFAM Uganda, Mr Edward Mwebaze, said there is a need to empower people to live a better future.

“We are concerned about injustice and inequality. Land is a very key question in terms of inequality, if land questions are not adequately addressed, the majority of our people will be impoverished,” he said.

Mr Mwebaze said Parliament has the obligation to empower vulnerable people especially women who are sidelined during land acquisition.

The Kyegegwa District Woman MP, Flavia Kabahenda, said there is a need to popularise land policies and rights through awareness campaigns in communities.

“There is a lack of information in communities, people don’t know their rights on land, how, when they can use their rights. We as legislators should invest most of our time in mindset change, awareness, break down the laws and policies in the way the local people can understand,” she said.

The Napak District Woman MP, Faith Nakuti said there is a need for consistency in supporting communities to know their land rights in order to protect them from land grabbers.

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