Uganda Land Alliance: STATEMENT ON THE OCCASION OF THE NATIONAL LAND CONFERENCE MAY 25TH-27TH 2010

May 25th, 2010 | By Kimpavitapress | Category: Features

As representatives from across the country gather for the 3-day National Land Conference currently ongoing at Hotel Africana in Kampala to discuss salient issues in the National Land Policy, the Uganda Land Alliance wishes to call upon all stakeholders to put politics aside and churn a brighter future for all Ugandans both present and those to come.

The Uganda Land Alliance, representing over 60 CSOs and Individuals advocating for land rights of the poor women, men and children, is particularly concerned about the escalating land wrangles across the country, and hopes that this issue will be prioritized in the discussions as it provides a recipe for disharmony. In Uganda today, the Banyoro are fighting against Bakiga, Iteso against Karamojong, Banyoli against Bagwere, Bagungu against Bahima, Bakonjo against Basongora, and the Buganda land question over the 9000 Square Miles rages on. There have also been international border disputes among them; Uganda against Sudan, Uganda against Rwanda, Uganda against Congo, and the most recent brawl between Uganda and Kenya over the tiny Island of Migingo and so on.

While attempting to disentangle these volatile land disputes, government must establish laws that are consistent with the traditional peculiarities of various regional and cultural groupings, and also address the colonial inconsistencies in land demarcation and allocation once and for all. According to the 1998 Land Act, Customary Land Tenure involves several practices which place traditional authorities and leaders at the centre of most activities relating to land. The Act recognizes this central role by including traditional authorities in dispute settlement by stating that: “Nothing in this Act will hinder or limit the exercise by traditional authorities of the function of determining disputes over customary tenure or acting as mediator between persons who are in dispute over any matter arising out of customary tenure.” Sadly, the law alone is not enough without rules and guidelines to operationalize it.

ULA also notes with concern the continued marginalization of women on land mostly resulting from traditionally patriarchal family arrangement that upholds male supremacy over their female counterparts.

All these challenges have been escalated by otherwise preventable circumstances like the Northern Insurgency and the havoc caused by the recent wave of landslides that have affected many parts of the country, mostly in Bududa district where over 300 people are feared to have perished early this year.

We strongly urge all participants at the conference to unilaterally observe the fact that land in an African context and indeed world over, is an asset both for those here present, those to come, and the ancestors. The current trend has seen poor people selling off their land to rich opportunists with the intention of getting rich quick; under the guise of development, investors are exhuming remains of the deceased soon after they are buried; and generally many families today have no land to pass over to their children. This commercialization of land simply threatens the future of generations to come as those without huge sums of money may never be guaranteed a place to lay their heads. “If this trend of events is not addressed in policy, the future of this country could be chaotic as it’s not just enough to say that all land belongs to the people when majority do not practically own it”.

We recommend that;

Ø A deliberate arrangement be put in place to guarantee every citizen not just a right to, but a piece of land for their livelihood;

Ø Stronger laws be passed and implemented to protect all citizens’ rights to land irrespective of social class or political affiliation;

Ø Mechanisms be put in place to afford the poor people cheap legal services;

Ø Government gives maximum support to the traditional justice system in societies where it exists as it has been found to be more effective, cheap and less time-consuming than the formal system. Guidelines must be put in place to operationalise the law on Customary Land Tenure;

Ø Special arrangements be made in light of the escalating landslides in the country to ensure a continued amicable livelihood for the affected persons

Ø The law addresses concerns of women and other marginalized groups over land; and

Ø A special arrangement be made for Northern Uganda, given the massive effects of the 20-year insurgency that left most communities totally disillusioned.

Background

The Uganda Land Alliance (ULA) is a membership consortium of national, regional and international civil society organizations, lobbying and advocating for fair land laws and policies that address the land rights of the poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and individuals in Uganda.

The Alliance was established in 1995 as an independent non-governmental legal entity, registered as a company limited by guarantee.

The Alliance Secretariat coordinates the following programs:

Advocacy on land matters

v Sensitization on land law and policy

v Information dissemination

v National Land Policy

v Community Mapping

v Minority Land Rights

v Lobbying for fair land policies and laws

Networking and Capacity Building

v Skill building and enhanced members’ capacity

v Information flow between members and ULA

v Visibility and access of land issues to the public

v HIV/AIDS mainstreaming

v National, Regional and International networking

Legal Aid Services

v ULA operates Land Rights Information Centres in Apac, Amuru, Iriiri-Moroto, Katakwi, and Pader, for the provision of legal aid and legal education (the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods in land dispute resolution is paramount)

v Legal Research on land law and policy reforms

v Strategic litigation

v Case, client and Issues data collection to inform ULA’s lobby processes