The Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, has handed over 1,000 land titles to jubilant residents of Butalejja and re-echoed President Museveni’s message warning against land fragmentation which stifles production and economic growth.
The customary land ownership titles were handed over at a ceremony witnessed by MPs and district leaders and the beneficiaries were drawn from the areas of Mazzimasa, Kachonga and Naweyo.
Nabakooba reminded the residents about President Museveni’s advise that families should not sub-divide their land noting that the continuous subdivision of farmland would lead to small sized land holdings that would be hard to economically operate.
Happy land owners display their titles handed over by Minister Nabakooba
“ I am glad and happy to see and hear testimonies that those people who received the customary titles in 2019 have used them to borrow money from financial institutions and SACCOs in order to invest on their land without fear of being evicted and their investments destroyed. The family investments have indeed transformed those families and they have managed to create wealth using their customary land titles. This is evidence and testimony that with a customary title, families have been able to create wealth ,” Nabakooba stated .
Nabakooba called for conservation of wetlands in Butalejja and the entire Busoga sub-region. “We really need to protect the environment because it plays a huge role in making our lives complete,” she said.
She added: “The Uganda Community Based Association for Women and Children’s Welfare (UCOBAC) and our partners have tried to sensitise the people on how to protect the sensitive ecosystem and environment. 40% of Butalejja is up made of wetlands. Government is also aware that parts of Busoga sub-region is made of wetlands.”
Speaking at the same event, Grace Angeline Chelimo, the Board Chairperson at UCOBAC, said the organisation in partnership with the Uganda government and other players have been involved in a project to help residents in the district register their customary land and receive land titles.
About 1624 residents in Butalejja received land titles with the help of UCOBAC which is implementing the project in partnership with Government. Chelimo said the project is aimed at improving the land tenure system that benefits women, children and the youth. She added that the organisation has focused on three sub-counties which include: Mazimasa, Kachola and Naweyo.
UCOBAC has been involved with land title registrations give away in Butalejja and other places such as Pader District where 450 land titles were given to residents in the district.
Butalejja Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Lawrence Ben Marley, revealed that land disputes are the most reported cases in the district.
Marley said some of the cause of land disputes in the district include: Polygamy which leads to fight over property in case the sole bread owner dies, absentee land lords whose caretakers end up selling over their land and the huge space taken up by the wetlands leaving a small area for people to fight for.
The Butalejja Woman Member of Parliament, Florence Nebanda, encouraged the residents to secure their land rights by ensuring that they get and keep safely their land titles.
