The Minister of Lands and Urban Development Daudi Migereko has warned staff in the lands registry departments to desist from extorting money from clients while claiming that they are looking for information yet the information is just a click away.
Speaking at the launch of the National Land Policy, if you do not change, your days in the ministry are numbered.”
The National Land Policy (NLP) was launched last week at Hotel Africana with the view to providing a framework for articulating the role of land in national developments, land ownership, distribution, utilization and control of land.
The vision of the NLP is to permit “a transformed Ugandan society through optimal use and management of land resources for a prosperous and industrialized economy with a developed services sector”.
Migereko called for the the restructuring of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to position it and enable it carry out its allotted functions.
“[Implementation of the policy] will also require re-tooting and reinventing our ministry staff. More importantly, as managers and staff, we shall have to adopt a positive attitude to the policy, our work and the new technology as well as changes which are being introduced in the sector.”
“If we can do this, our image and capacity to deliver will be enhanced,” he added.
Migereko said the highly anticipated land information system which helped to digitise lands registry data including titles in districts, is working well. The first six districts that benefited from the computerization of the lands information are Kampala (KCCA,) Wakiso, Mukono, Jinja, Masaka, and Mbarara.
“Our clients from these regions no longer have to come to Kampala to access land services such as processing land titles,” Migereko noted.
He said that in 2014/15 financial year, the computerization process will be moved to Arua, Gulu, Lira, Masindi, Kibaale, Kabarole and Mbale.
He further noted that the new National Land information System centre located on plot Lourdel Road is also operational. It is a one stop centre on land related information in the country, with an electronic record of all land transactions.
