The government has processed over 3000 freehold land titles for beneficiaries in the five districts of Ankore comprising Ibanda, Rwampara, Kiruhura, Mbarara, and Mbarara City.
The issuance of the freehold land titles is being implemented under the Systematic Land Adjudication and Certification (SLAAC) program, a pilot project implemented by the Ministry of Land, Housing, and Urban Development. The USD100 million project is jointly funded by the Government and the World Bank.
The government rolled out the project in 2013 to consolidate the achievement of the pilot stage of the Land Information System (LIS) Strategy. The government then contracted GIS Transport Ltd (GIS/T) to undertake the project across Oyam in the North, Rwampara, Mbarara, Ibanda, and Kiruhura districts in Western. The project saw the demarcation, survey, and adjudication of over 65,000 land parcels.
Jackson Mukaga, the Coordinator Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP), says that the project aims at enhancing the security of land ownership and uplifting the livelihoods of vulnerable groups.
He said that the Ministry has already processed and approved over 31,356 applications for titling at the Data Processing Centre in Entebbe. Over 2,500 Certificates of Title have been printed in the two years of the project.
Handing over the land titles to some beneficiaries in Mbarara on Saturday, the Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Minister Judith Nabakooba said that the program was initiated to ease the process of acquiring land titles.
She said that the initiative is meant to stem land disputes and evictions, noting that the project will be rolled out across the country.
Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi, the Mbarara City Mayor complained about the rampant grabbing of Government land and asked the ministry to survey the lands under the same program.
Moses Kandebe, a resident of Nyamikanja Village in Rwampara District, and other beneficiaries appreciated the project noting that he is now releaved after getting his land title.
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