District land boards are significantly contributing to the widespread issuance of erroneous land titles in wetland areas, thereby exacerbating the Government’s efforts to conserve these delicate ecosystems, a lands ministry commissioner has said.
Esther Lunkuse Lutaaya, a commissioner in the lands registry, revealed that much as the public blames the lands ministry for issuing titles in wetlands and other protected areas, such mistakes are done based on inspection reports and deed plans submitted by district land boards.
“At the lands ministry, the process of creating a new land title is entirely facilitated by the proof of the district land board minute approving due diligence and inspection reports done from the field,” Lutaaya noted.
She was on Friday addressing hundreds of Lubigi wetland evictees who were receiving documents of ownership for the five-acre piece of land donated to them by real estate dealer Haji Hassan Bulwadda in Mityana district.
Lutaaya disclosed that all building plans and land titles created in Lubigi wetland were found illegal before the Government sanctioned demolitions through the National Environment Management Authority in Kampala and Wakiso districts a fortnight ago.
“It was established that such building plans and titles were created based on wrong information from minutes signed by district land boards and urban authorities, which gave approvals while seated in offices, without visiting the areas where they granted such building permits,” he revealed.
The Government has implemented measures to safeguard the ecosystem, including designating them as protected zones such as forest reserves and national parks, but the issuance of land titles in these areas undermines these conservation efforts.
“Our investigation from the land registry revealed that district land boards responsible for managing land transactions are frequently approving titles for land located in designated wetlands. These titles are often issued without proper verification, disregarding the environmental and legal implications,” Lutaaya, who is a lawyer and former Mityana deputy resident district commissioner, added.
According to Lutaaya, the practice is widespread, with numerous district land boards implicated. “It is a systemic issue,” she said.
“District land boards are more focused on generating revenue than upholding environmental regulations. The consequences of this malpractice are far-reaching.” Lutaaya, who witnessed Bulwadda’s land donation to the stranded Lubigi wetland encroachers, warned district land boards against such practices, saying they fuel land conflicts in the country.
Bulwadda said he was fulfilling his promise to the Lubigi evictees, to whom he handed over 80 land agreements for the five acres of land he donated.
NOT A POLITICIAN
“Despite the challenges, I want to assure the public that my intentions are genuine. I am not a politician, but just a concerned citizen who wants to help,” he said.
Only 160 people of those evicted in Nansana, Ganda, Kawaala and Nakuwadde were relocated under phase one on 80 plots, all in Block 241 in Nana village, Wattuba parish, Kikandwa sub-county, Mityana district.
Recently, the lands minister Judith Nabakooba said the Government was in the process of cancelling over 2,000 titles which were created out of such district minutes yet the land is located in wetlands.
