“In the height of the rampant evictions and the legal gaps, the only option left to handle the evictions is to amend the existing law by inserting the provisions that can address the problem,” reads part of the decision of the committees on Physical Infrastructure and that of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, who have been scrutinizing the Bill since February.
The committee decision is contained in a seven-page draft report, a copy of which Daily Monitor obtained. Parliament is expected to debate it this week.
The MPs recommended that as a matter of urgency, the Bill should be passed and consultations, if necessary, could be done later.
The development signals a first victory for President Museveni, who has passionately pushed for the proposed reforms and offers the first indication of how things will play out on the floor of Parliament when MPs begin scrutinising the Bill.
Three MPs, however, who sit on the joint committee, have indicated intention to draft a minority report after disagreeing with the main report. That development sets the stage for chaotic scenes on the floor over a Bill that has polarised the House along tribal lines since its tabling in February.
Land bill segregates
The Bill is silent about Buganda’s 9,000 square miles yet it talks about customary land elsewhere. “Why is government applying the law selectively?” Makindye East MP Michael Mabikke wondered. “We shall ask the Speaker to give us three days to come up with a minority report on this Land Bill,” said Mr Mabikke. The dissenting legislators are led by Mr Mabikke.
Although Mr Museveni insists the Bill will go a long way in protecting tenants from illegal evictions, critics led by Buganda Kingdom, have accused the government of trying to use the proposed legislation to allow land grabbers to settle on Buganda’s 9,000 square miles.
In the draft report, legislators have adopted the controversial government amendments like Section 32(b) presented by Lands Minister Daniel Omara Atubo which attempts to empower courts to arbitrate over matters of customary land. It is the same clause that generated a lot of hostility from sections of the public on account that matter of customary land are generally governed by established traditional norms and beliefs.
The report rubberstamps the Cabinet proposal that a person can only be evicted upon non-payment of the annual nominal ground rent. But this clause turned controversial after critics argued that apart from the ground rent there were other reasons for eviction.
A source on the committee told Daily Monitor yesterday that they were under pressure to come up with a positive recommendation “because the President wants the Bill passed like yesterday”, adding that the committee had been directed to expedite the process.
Although the committee was to carry out consultations around the country, it visited only 22 out of 81 districts. The committee endorsement also directly disregards views of Acholi, Teso, Lango, Karamoja, opposition political parties, the business community, legal representatives and human rights activists among others who had objected to the proposed law demanding further consultations.
Land Bill critics vow to sue government
Buganda Kingdom Information Minister Charles Peter Mayiga said the Bill if passed as recommended by the Parliamentary Physical Infrastructure and Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committees, will be resisted and also challenged in court. “We shall challenge any piece of legislation that doesn’t address our interests and that of the population,” Mr Mayiga said, adding that Buganda has not changed her position on the Bill.
Mr Mayiga said there were enough laws in place to address the rampant land evictions, which reason President Museveni advances in pushing for the Bill. Foundation for Human Rights Initiative Executive Director Livingstone Ssewanyana said without a national land policy, the Bill would be resisted. “If Parliament clears the process before any sufficient consultations, the land problems will instead increase,” Mr Ssewanyana said.
The Acholi leadership in Parliament has also backed efforts to have a minority report on the matter, insisting that the committee should have halted passing the Land Bill until nationwide consultations were made. “The people, who are land owners have rejected it, so who else can clear this ridiculous Bill?” wondered Mr Livingstone Okello-Okello (UPC, Chwa) the Acholi Parliamentary Group Chairperson.
The Uganda Bankers ‘Association also opposed the Bill on grounds that it closes the market for mortgages and loans, from which banks depend for most of their business. Bankers say the Bill does not clarify whether the land owner should acquire consent from tenants by occupancy before taking a mortgage using the land title as security.
It also does not explain how the bank can recover its money on a piece of land with tenants, incase the land owner fails to meet the mortgage demands.
Why opposition on the Land Bill
Buganda Kingdom: They say the Bill undermines the Kabaka, adding that the current land law has sufficiently addressed issues of land wrangles and evictions.
West Nile elders: They say the Bill empowers the State to regulate their customary land yet they have traditional institutions in place that can arbitrate in case of any conflicts.
Uganda Bankers Association:
Worried that the Bill would close the market for mortgage and loan services. They told the joint committee the Bill does not clarify whether the land owner should acquire consent from tenants by occupancy before taking a mortgage using the land title as security.
Acholi MPs: They said the Bill is aimed at grabbing their communal land so that it is given away to the investors. They feel the current 1998 Land Act addresses the current problem of the evictions and that its provisions have not been fully enforced.
The Uganda Land Alliance:
Says the government should make nationwide consultations on the Bill.
The Human Rights Commission: It advised that the Bill should be withdrawn from Parliament pending further consultations and called for an independent commission to head the consultations.
