Discussion
Details
The government is proposing controversial amendments to the 1998 Land Act, something that has generated strong opposition from landlords, a cross-section of parliamentarians and indeed the general public. KAS has contributed towards the debate by supporting a public dialogue on the proposed changes in the land law. Whereas the government urges that the proposed changes are aimed at protecting the poor who have suffered endless evictions by land owners in the recent past, the opponents insist that the bill is a deliberate attempt by government to facilitate the grabbing of land in favour of a few individuals and foreign investors. This equally comes amidst unresolved issues related to land distribution in the country, the most outstanding being some 9000sq miles that were at the time of colonialism, allocated to the Uganda’s biggest cultural institution (Buganda Kingdom) and is to date under control of the central government and has been a centre of debate for the past decade with continuous demands from the Buganda people that the same be returned.
The aim of KAS in supporting land related dialogues is to give an opportunity for a multiplicity of stakeholders to engage in genuine and honest deliberations on land matters with a passionate desire that a consensus may be reached.
