UGANDA LAND POLICY (3.22.2016)

Land policy reform remains fundamental to rural economic development. Getting policies ‘right’ to encourage development and investment remains one of the cornerstones of economic development in sub-saharan africa (Deininger and Binswager 1999, Onoma 2010). Where formal land rights provide a protocol for transparency and economic stability, laws do not execute themselves. Indeed, land rights scholars rightly aver that ‘rules are not enough: execution matters’ (Ostrom and Nagenda 2007, Gibb 2013). Inasmuch as legislation and land policy in Uganda is becoming more sophisticated, inclusive, and accessible, the recent presidential elections have shown that there remains strong public outcry against Uganda’s land failures.

2016 Elections Pledges

In the recent presidential elections, each candidate acknowledged the popular demand for land reform. Incumbent President and NRM chairman Yoweri Museveni promised institutional reform and strengthening local-level adjudication mechanisms (http://www.reuters.com/article/uganda-politics-landrights-idUSL8N15E03O).  FDC challenger Kizza Besigye understood Uganda’s land conflict as a struggle for peasant farmers against titled owners and ‘land-grabbers’, at once appealing to landless farmers and rural populists concerned about the status of their tenure (http://www.elections.co.ug/new-vision/election/1415187/besigye-heads-wakiso).  A third presidential contender, independent presidential candidate Joseph Elton Mabirizi, contended that his administration would guarantee land rights and defeat the current elite coalitions which fuel contemporary reforms (http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/Elections/Mabirizi-to-promote-talents--promises-land-reforms/-/859108/3000426/-/p489q1z/-/index.html). Both Besigye and Mabirizi seek greater clarity to the titling process, advocating independent councils and audits http://www.reuters.com/article/uganda-politics-landrights-idUSL8N15E03O) .

Budgeting

Recent national budgets allocate new money to land projects, including funds to digitize land titles. The National Land Registration System, launched in 2014, continues to define Uganda’s titling program via the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development. The program registered over 5,000 mailo claims and over 1,000 freehold claims, and it also surveyed over 4,600 properties (BTTB 2016: 77). Uganda’s 2015/16 allocates nearly 26 billion (UGX) for the Land and Urban Housing sector in accordance with Uganda’s new National Land Policy (2013), down from the 29 billion UGX approved in the 2013/14 budget (BTTB 2014/15: 121). Uganda’s recent investment in land tenure security signals modest amounts of national political priority as well as a significant uptick in bureaucratic competency and organization.

Works Cited

Deiniger, Klaus, and Binswanger Hans. “The Evolution of the World Bank’s Land Policy:

Principles, Experience, and Future Challenges.” The World Bank Research Observer 14, no. 2 (1999): 247–276.

Background to the Budget. 2016. Government of Uganda.

Background to the Budget. 2014. Government of Uganda.

Gibb, Ryan. 2013. “The Politics of Land Reform in Uganda”. Lawrence, USA: University of

Kansas.

National Land Policy. 2013. Government of Uganda.

Onoma, Ato Kwamena. The Politics of Property Rights Institutions in Africa. New York:

Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Ostrom, Elinor, and Harini Nagenda. “Tenure Alone Is Not Sufficient: Monitoring Is 
Essential.”  Environmental Economics and Policy Studies 8 (2007): 175–199.