Efforts to improve road infrastructure in Buvuma District have hit a major obstacle as some landlords continue to block ongoing repair works on key feeder roads, frustrating projects aimed at enhancing connectivity across the island district.
In several villages, particularly in Lwajje and Bweema sub-counties, landlords claim that local authorities constructed the feeder roads without their consent, despite the roads passing through privately owned mailo land. The obstruction has stalled essential road repairs, limiting access to critical areas, including landing sites that serve as vital transport hubs.
Bweema Sub-county chairperson, Richard Tunsiime, said that efforts to fix roads connecting multiple communities have been severely hampered by land disputes.
"We are facing a lot of challenges when it comes to opening up permanent roads in my sub-county. The landlords are becoming a problem. They have sabotaged many road projects by giving lame excuses. Some say their titles don’t show that roads are passing through their estates," Tunsiime said.
Similarly, Bernard Ndibalema, Lwajje Sub-county chairperson, highlighted instances where individual landlords refused to allow government programs on their land, affecting the delivery of essential services.
"One landlord in our sub-county owns titles in two villages but does not allow any government programme to be conducted there. I have on several occasions tried to engage her to see how we can work together so that sitting tenants can benefit from government programs—not only roads but piped water and other services—but it was like squeezing water out of a rock," Ndibalema said.
Buvuma District Engineer Jasper Mayega said that the actions of some landlords are hindering broader development initiatives in the district.
"That tendency of blocking us from maintaining feeder roads is mostly seen in sub-counties like Bweema, where we rely on a ferry, which is costly. It is very frustrating to use taxpayers’ money to transport road units, only to be prevented from completing the work as planned," he said.
District Chairperson Adrian Ddungu emphasized that landlords have the legal right to block projects passing through their land without prior consent and due compensation. He called on the government to ensure that all funded projects include a component for landowner compensation.
"We need to lobby the government to ensure that any project they are funding has a component of compensation," Ddungu said.
Buvuma District has a total road network of 319km. Of this, 143km are managed by the district, 98km are community roads, 40km fall under the Ministry of Works and Transport, and 38km are under urban councils. The district currently has only 1km of tarmacked road, highlighting the urgent need for development and infrastructure upgrades.
The impasse underscores the challenges of balancing private land rights with public infrastructure needs, raising questions about how future development projects can proceed in a district with fragmented land ownership and limited road infrastructure.