Ministry of Lands wants Shs 1.7 trillion to settle land disputes in the country

The ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has said that it requires at least Shs1.7 trillion to resolve historical land disputes in the country especially the Mailo land question  among others.

The ministry also said it had achieved 85% in as far as implementing the 2016 NRM manifesto is concerned.

Presenting the ministry's performance report over the last four years, Beti Kamya, the minister of Lands, said there is need to capitalise the land fund to a tune of Shs 1.7 trillion to fully handle the land issues in the country.

She noted that a portion of this money will help to settle the historical land disputes that have persisted for a long time.

She praised the government for increasing the budget of the fund from Shs 42 billion to Shs 92 billion but she said more monetary support is still required.

"So far 2,036 hectares have been been bought using the land fund but to resolve all the land disputes in the country we need about Shs 1.7 trillion. So more resources are still needed to address the challenges," she said.

Kamya said that poor coordination among government agencies on land matters is still a big challenge that has frustrated their progress.

She said the ministry has instituted more than 20 zonal offices to address different land disputes across the country.

The state minister for Housing, Dr Chris Baryomunsi noted that the ministry is also engaging the World Bank and other development partners to create a fund to reduce the cost of housing in the country.

"We are in final discussion between the government and the World Bank to access these monies which we shall put in one of the financial institutions. We shall agree on an interest rate which is quite affordable and cheap and then it will be accessed by those who want to invest in urban housing, "he said.