The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Hon. Judith Nabakooba has tasked Uganda’s institutions of higher learning including Makerere University -one of the oldest in Africa ,to undertake extensive research to provide solutions that can unlock the productive potential of the country’s rural based communities.
Nakabooka said this was important because much as land is an important factor of production and has increased in value due to the fast growing real estate industry , the quality and quantity of outputs remain low for the majority peasant farmers.
The Minister said that as government through her Ministry of Lands ,countrywide efforts have been made to secure people’s tenure over land. “We are enabling stressed out communities especially the bibanja holders, customary holders to have registered rights by giving them land titles. We know that having registered rights is an important step towards joining the productive industry,” she stated .
Nabakooba was today speaking at the launch of the Masters in Land Administration Degree Program at Makerere University.
“Now that government is doing its part, we are looking at our Universities to show us where the weak points are. We are looking at this Master’s program to give us the evidence about the missing links in our efforts to add these subsistence communities into the bigger productive economy,” the Minister stressed.
She that while government under the leadership of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has renewed efforts against land fragmentation, through the new master’s program researched data should be provided to help stem the primitive practices including land fragmentation-that are responsible for the low productive utilization of land.
Nabakooba added thus ,”We are living at a time when land technologies in mapping and satellite are increasing becoming available and affordable. Uganda has recently joined the space race by launching our own satellite. We are therefore, relying on the institutions of higher learning to help us make the best of these technologies in addressing conflicts over boundaries and trespass.
“We expect Makerere University through such programs to provide us with timely information on possible areas of land conflicts,” she said.
The Minister was also optimistic that the new masters program will be very useful in understanding and finding solutions related to the adverse effects of climate change and protecting the environment.
“How can we teach our communities to sustainably utilize their land in such a way that it serves their fuel needs but the environment as well? How can we sustainably protect our natural habitats like wetlands and forests but be able to have land for industries and urban centers,” Nabakooba challenged the academicians and the pioneer students at Makerere to find the answers.
The Minister thanked the World Bank and other partners that have supported the establishment of the new program.
