Lands Minister Harriet Ntabazi says new digital systems will simplify land registration, curb alleged overcharging by intermediaries and help address overlapping titles, while government considers wider reforms to land use.
The government has introduced systems intended to reduce the cost of obtaining land titles, Lands Minister of State Harriet Ntabazi has said, amid complaints from Ugandans about high fees charged during the registration process.
Ntabazi said some landowners had been paying more than Shs2.5 million to surveyors and district land board committees to secure titles, yet some of the money was not reaching the government.
Speaking to journalists in Sheema District, she said the new digital systems would simplify the process and reduce the need for applicants to travel between offices.
“I am here to communicate to the country that we have put in place systems that are going to reduce the costs of getting a title, and with the digitalisation system, you don’t have to move. Yours is to enter your data in the computer at the district level and have your title printed,” Ntabazi said.
She said the government also planned to register surveyors and incorporate their details into the Ministry of Lands’ database to improve oversight and regulate their operations.
Ntabazi further said land committees, district land boards and ministerial zonal offices were not supposed to charge fees for their services, warning officials against demanding money from applicants.
She acknowledged persistent land disputes arising from overlapping titles and said the ministry’s departments responsible for surveys, mapping and registration had been equipped with upgraded digital systems to address the problem.
“The issue of overlaps is going to stop because the process has been so manual to an extent that we couldn’t detect the map codes in the ministry. But now we are going to be using satellite and drones to capture everything, and I can assure you the land issues will be sorted once and for all,” she said.
The minister also said the government had developed a blockchain-based system intended to strengthen land records, curb land grabbing and improve security of ownership.
Under the Systematic Land Adjudication and Certification programme, which she said was funded by the World Bank, the ministry is continuing to issue titles to rural landowners to strengthen their security of tenure.
“The people whose job was to grab other people’s land, it’s high time they stopped it because we are now going for them,” Ntabazi warned.
In a separate development, Ntabazi said Cabinet was considering reforms that would allow Ugandans to retain ownership of land while the government determines how it is used, particularly where public projects are involved.
She said the proposal was intended to address delays and rising compensation costs when government projects require land occupied by private owners.
“We want to do away with delaying government projects. Imagine instead of compensating people, let’s say Shs1 billion, you end up paying them six or more billion. So we want to ensure that while people own land, usage must be determined by government,” she said.
The proposal could have significant implications for private land rights and would require clear legal safeguards and clarification on how government decisions on land use would affect owners.
Ntabazi also said the government intended to discourage the construction of standalone bungalows in urban areas in favour of condominiums and other higher-density housing developments to promote more efficient use of land.
The proposals form part of a broader push to improve land administration, reduce disputes and support urban development. However, the details of the proposed land-use reforms, including their legal framework and implementation arrangements, were not provided.