Government through the Lands Ministry has issued at 1,100 certificates of freehold titles to 1,046 residents of Kikuube District in Bunyoro Sub region.
The titles were processed under the Systematic Land Adjudication and Certification (SLAAC), a government supported program through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD). Beneficiaries were required to pay only Shs85,000.
SLAAC is where unregistered land and interests are ascertained in a systematic manner, parcel by parcel for a large area resulting in issuance of titles to the owners.
“A total of 26,000 parcels were adjudicated and demarcated in Kikuube District and certificates of titles are being processed. Out of the 1,100 titles handed over to beneficiaries today, 30.5 percent are for women,” Minister Nabakooba said. She represented Hon Robina Nabanja, the Prime Minister of Uganda, as Chief Guest at the function.
The titles were issued to beneficiaries during the belated commemoration of Women’s day at Kyamasuuka village in Bugambe Sub County.
Nabakooba noted that more titles will be processed under SLAAC and will be delivered to the district for distribution. She urged the new landlords to use the titles to venture into income generating projects.
“Do not sell your land but put the certificates to productive use through accessing credit by using them as collateral security in order to transform your families,” she urged.
Beneficiaries were drawn from Kinogozi Parish, Nyarugabu Parish, Kimbugu Parish Kisambo Parish, Ruguse Parish, and Kigaaya West Ward among others.
The Minister said that she has approved over 3,000 applications for titles that belong to the Church of Uganda across the country. Kikuube district is one of the beneficiary districts, with at least 101 applications approved.
“I urge other religious institutions to submit their applications to the ministry. Acquisition of land titles protects land owners from disputes and evictions and also protects citizens from lack of documentation,” she added.
Minister Nabakooba appreciated President Yoweri Museveni for his visionary leadership in helping Kikuube and Bunyoro at large to register their land in order to use it productively to generate wealth.
Florence Natumanya Ateenyi, Kikuube district Woman MP, emphasized the importance of having titled land, asking beneficiaries to put them to productive use. She encouraged them to tap into government programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, UWEP among others.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the President for this initiative and also thank the ministry of lands for choosing Kikuube to be one of the benefiting districts. I encourage all beneficiaries to use these land titles to change your lives,” she said.
She however appealed to minister Nabakooba to extend the same program to areas that have not benefited in this batch, noting that land disputes have been at their peak in the district. Francis Kazini, Buhaguzi County MP, said they still have land grabbers in the area, requesting the minister to convey their prayer to President Museveni to have all residents of Kikuube get land titles.
Stephen Itaza, Buhaguzi East MP, also added his voice to urge beneficiaries to avoid taking their titles to money lenders. He noted that some money lenders are land dealers, and their intention is not helping but grabbing people’s land.
He instead encouraged them to use the available government program to access funds and they uplift their living standards.
Some of the beneficiaries got more than one title and they have expressed commitment of having their land productive to move from subsistence farming into the money economy.
