KAGADI, UGANDA: The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Judith Nabakooba Friday gave out 800 freehold land titles to the People in Kagadi Sub-county Kagadi district under the Systematic land demarcation program.
According to the program, 800 more land titles to make a total of 1,600 titles will be given out to the beneficiaries after they have registered and cleared stamp duties.
Speaking to the residents at Kenga playground in Kagadi sub-county on Friday, Ms Nabakooba encouraged the locals to end worries about eviction threats because the government has given them ownership of their lands after buying titles from the absent landlords.
The minister said the program will stop land grabbing and she urged locals to use the lands for commercial purposes to enhance their household incomes. She warned residents against practices of land fragmentation emphasizing that the habit makes the land less productive since it cannot be used for commercial production.
Nabakooba further urged beneficiaries of land titles to embrace government programs of poverty alleviation like Parish Development Modal, Emyooga among others and warned against taking titles as collateral security in banks to acquire high-interest loans.
“Stop mortgaging land titles for financial loans, use your land for commercial agriculture to improve your household incomes,” she said
In the same way, the minister commended the Kagadi Members of Parliament Musana Eric for Buyaga East constituency, Jenifer Kyomuhendo Mbabazi the Kagadi Woman MP and Barnabas Tinkasimire of Buyaga West constituency for their good leadership and service delivery to their electorates.
Hon Barnabas Tinkasimire, the Buyaga West Legislator explained that the government agreed in principle with absent landlords to sell off their titles to government and in return give them to the residents to enable them to acquire full ownership of their lands.
He asked residents to work hard in uplifting their household incomes and make full use of their land for agricultural purposes.
Ms Nabakooba who was expected to move to Sub Counties of Ndaiga, Mpeefu and Kyaterekera in Buyaga West on May 20th to address land conflicts later cancelled the program and promised to communicate another date when she will return to the district to address the issue.
In 2019, Locals and leaders from Kagadi District petitioned Parliament over the illegal possession of over 150 acres of their land.
The Mpeefu Town Council LC3 Chairman, Robert Tumukwasibwe Birahuri who was part of the group said that the contested piece of land located in Mpeefu village had been sold and titled to a private individual without the knowledge of the people occupying the land.
Tumukwasibwe said that they have approached various leaders including the Minister of Lands and the President in vain.
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