Africa-Press – Uganda. Public land first surfaced on Uganda’s legal jurisprudence when it was included in the 1900 Buganda Agreement where forests, waste and uncultivated land, land for government stations and official estates were classified as public land.
The first enactment on public land management was the Crown Land Ordinance of 1903. Second was “The Possession of Land Law” of 15th June 1908 which defined both Private and Official Mailo. Thirdly was the 15th May 1919 Official Estates Act setting out the management of Official Mailo (Estate).
The 1st March 1962 Public Land Ordinance established the Uganda Land Commission, Buganda Land Board, Federal Land Boards and District Land Boards, as statutory bodies to manage public land. This law also converted Crown Land into freehold, and vested it in the Boards. Article 118 of the 1962 constitution adopted the provisions of the said ordinance and clarified Buganda Land Board to be at par with other Federal and District Land Boards. For avoidance of doubt, the current Buganda Land Board Limited is a private company, which cannot be a successor in title to a public statutory body.
The 1966 “pigeon hole” constitution in Article 113 sub-section 1 (a) and (b) maintained the management of public land in public statutory bodies stating in Article 113 (7) that the Land Board of a Kingdom (Federal Unit) or a District was to hold and manage Public Land, “for the benefit of the people of the Kingdom or District.”
The 1967 Constitution, under Article 108, vested all rights, interests and other estates which had been held either by a corporation sole by virtue of the provisions of the Official Estate Act (1919) or any land which immediately before the commencement of that constitution had been vested in the Land Board of a Kingdom (Federal Unit) or a District into the statutory Uganda Land Commission. For avoidance of doubt, this was not a confiscation by the 1967 constitution of properties which belonged to Traditional Rulers. The Public lands were vested in the commission and were under the 1969 Public Land Act to “continue to be so vested for the same estate or interest and to same extent as they were previously vested.” The sanctity of public land was preserved through the legal evolution of the day.
The 1995 constitution under Article 240, decentralized the management of public land to District Land Boards. The stringent accountability requirements for management of Public Land was retained. The District Land Boards are under Article 241 (2) required to take into account national and District council policy on land.
They are also required under Section 60 (5) of Land Act to have regard to Article 237 (1) of the Constitution and section 61 (3) compels land Boards in the performance of their functions “to prepare and publish an annual report and shall have regard to any comments that the District Council may make on that annual report.”
Publication of annual reports is crucial as an accountability tool for the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and the District Councils, in their oversight functions set out in Article 241 (2) of the constitution and Section 60 (5) of the Land Act.
The Annual Reports are important as they are the source of information indicating execution of the mandatory obligations by the Boards under section 60 of the Land Act. The Report contains a summary of all transactions undertaken in the year, summary of all Board sittings, list of achievements and challenges faced by the Board.
In addition, the Annual Report must show that it complied with the Guidelines on the Administration of Land of 12th July 2005. Those Guidelines make it mandatory to the District Land Boards not to automatically re-enter a lessee’s land. They further provide that renewal and extension of leases on initial and full term for citizens of Uganda “shall be automatic” and that the leases owned by non-citizens “shall be eligible for renewal.” In absence of Annual Reports, the public cannot through the oversight functions of the Ministry of Lands and District Council gauge compliance of these Guidelines.
Through the Ministry of Lands’ intervention to the District Land Boards, annual Reports compliance begun to pick up, showing that by December 2023, Kabale, Manafwa, Kitagwenda, Masaka, Iganga, Kayunga, Tororo, Mukono, and Mbarara Districts had complied.
The 31st December 2024 Annual Reports submissions slightly increased to 21 Districts, namely; Kabale, Kassanda, Kazo, Manafwa, Kitagwenda, Namisindwa, Masaka, Iganga, Kayunga, Tororo, Mukono, Mbarara, Yumbe, Lamwo, Lyantonde, Nakasongola, Bukedea, Mubende, Mityana, Butambala, Dokolo. There are 135 Districts in Uganda!
The constitutional and legislative evolution of the management of public land has been emphasising accountability and therefore efficiency. The dereliction of duty by majority District Land Boards in failing to “prepare and publish an Annual Report” is dangerous to the public land under their management.
The freedom to exercise their functions under “no direction or control of any person or authority” is not prescription for non-compliance with legal provisions and constitutionalism.
The author is the Minister of State for Lands
Source: Nilepost News
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