This land is my land…or is it?
Ownership of - or secure access to - land and other natural resources is the very basis of agriculture. Because of weak legislation and inadequate procedures which favour the better off, those most vulnerable to uncertain rights over the land they farm are smallholders. Such people are amongst the poorest and yet, with enabling legislation, they could become more productive, more able to provide employment to those without land, and more likely to contribute to the national economy. But land reform is almost invariably a political "hot potato", too uncomfortable to hold on to for long and therefore soon dropped. There is understandable reluctance by governments and donor organizations to be involved with land reform issues. The government of Uganda and Britain's Department for International Development, DFID, have proved to be exceptions in this regard and, working together, have started a process to implement new legislation that will give all Ugandans the rights to own land under a diversity of forms of tenure, including both customary and formal systems, and pass it on to family or other beneficiaries.
The need for land reform was recognised in the 1980s when the Bank of Uganda developed a range of research papers, which resulted in several bills being put before parliament. However, most people remained "tenants at will" of the State, even where they worked the land under customary law. It was not until the early '90s that a chapter in the new Constitution set out the rights of citizens to own and dispose of land, and this was promulgated in the Uganda Land Act of 1998. Within two weeks of the Act being passed, a workshop was held to consider ways and means of implementing the Land Act. This was funded by DFID but developed by the Ministry of Lands, Water and Environment, and it demonstrated very clearly the commitment of the Government. This was followed two months later by a second workshop. Arising from this, the Government of Uganda and DFID agreed on a project to assist with the implementation of the Land Act, with Professor Patrick McAuslan, Professor of Law at Birkbeck College, University of London, as Senior Technical Adviser to the Land Implementation Unit in the Ministry.
An important aspect of the Land Act is to decentralize land administration, and District Land Boards and Parish Land Committees are being established for this purpose. Establishing effective, new decentralized bodies to manage land affairs throughout the country is a significant challenge, and assistance is being provided by DFID to help the government establish priorities and manage the process. These bodies are being provided with information and guidance on how to develop regulations to enable them to exercise their powers in accordance with fairly simple rules. A major element of the project has been the Ministry's citizen's guide to the Land Act, which will shortly be available in seven local languages.
Further actions will result in the Land Act being given more practical expression but Professor McAuslan believes that Uganda is already leading the field in land reform in anglophone Africa. In February this year, DFID hosted a major conference on land tenure reform in Africa and its role in poverty alleviation. This brought together representatives from anglophone and francophone Africa to exchange experiences. It was apparent that, in many respects, Uganda was the focus of attention, with many countries seeking to learn from Uganda's experience in developing, and implementing, a legal framework on land reform.
