Accept Ground Rent: Lands Minister Nabakooba Tells Landlords

The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba has urged landlords across the country to respect the Land Act and accept nominal ground rent locally known as Busuulu from their tenants.

 She made the call on October 29, during an open day meeting held at Mityana Ministry’s Zonal office to sensitise communities about their land rights. Locals were also asked to embrace the new National Land Information public portal introduced to ease access to land information. “Refusal to take up busuulu from your tenants is still the root cause of land conflicts. Get a book and start registering all bibanja holders on your land to make clear records,” she said.

Highlighting the significance of busuulu, the minister noted that landlords can know their tenants and avoid encroachers. Many landlords have been complaining of the low rate of the ground rent, arguing that it is fueling land conflicts but Ms Nabakooba advised them to apply for land funds to enable government to buy such land.

 “The National Resistance Movement prioritises bibanja holders because a significant number of the total population of the country are squatters,” Nabakooba said. Ms Sarah Nakayima, a landlord in Kassanda, reported to the minister that she owns 100 acres of land but it was encroached on by tenants when she was away. She is currently living in fear after the tenants vowed to lynch her if she does not stop demanding Busuulu.

 When the minister listened to her wailing, she directed the officials at Mityana MZO to assist her in applying for Land Fund to be bailed out of the situation.

“Government will buy that land. Make sure you get all the requirements needed; our staff surveyors will come on the ground to do boundary opening on the land.”

 Ms Nabakooba also intervened in Bufuuma Village land issue where Musoke James Ntambaazi reportedly tortured residents from 10 villages for encroaching on land he claims ownership of. This land wrangle started in 2015 when he descended on people’s gardens and cut down their crops.

 Mr Erusama Kasawuli, the chairperson of the village, said his six acres of land are part of the land with conflicts in this area. He can no longer afford school fees for his children after Ntambaazi reportedly cut down his coffee plantation several times.

 “I have been arrested several times by the same person accusing me of trespassing on his land,” he said. The minister assured the affected villages to stay calm, promising to resolve their issue and have the land grabber arrested after finding out he had no land title.

At the same function, Minister Nabakooba asked coffee farmers not to worry about the ongoing proposed rationalisation of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority to its mother ministry, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries [MAAIF]. “We are all farmers. When rationalisation came, the government wanted to cut expenditure on these agencies,” she said.