President Museveni radio campaign

Accompanied by Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Hon. Among Betty, that of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hon. Hilary Onek, of State for Northern Uganda, Hon. Kwiyuucwiny Grace and NRM Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Richard Todwong, the President said that the Land Law needs to be amended to stop stalling government development projects like the railways, roads and water pipes, among others.

“If you look at the constitution of our neighboring countries, none has land laws like ours. In those countries land belongs to government,” he said.

Mr. Museveni said he was on a campaign to educate the public about the proposed Land Amendment Bill because media houses allowed opposition leaders to spread lies to the public; allegedly that the government intended to steal people’s land.

“I have not seen a country captured by lies like Uganda and this is partly because of the radio stations which do not believe in quality control for they allow all sorts of rubbish to go over the radios and allow these lies to go all over the place,” he said.

President Museveni informed the people that before colonialism, kings and chiefs controlled land in Uganda adding: “individuals did not own land. During the time of colonialism, land was divided into two categories; Mailo land in parts of Buganda, Tooro, Bunyoro and the crown land,” he said.

He also said that the British colonialists gave 8 square miles of mailo land to 1000 chiefs in Buganda and collaborators with the British while the crown land was given 9000 square miles and belonged to the Queen of England. When Uganda got independence, he said, mailo land stayed and what was crown land became public land meaning that the Republic of Uganda controlled it.

Mr. Museveni said that NRM cannot steal land from the public because the Movement was the first government in the history of Uganda, from the time of kings, to give land to citizens.  Before colonialism, he further explained, land belonged to the kings and during colonialism it belonged to the Queen of England.

“When the NRM government came into power it said Mailo land stays but landlords stop disturbing the tenants. We also said that public land does not belong to the government but people living there. The only land that stayed with government were the ranches, government projects and health centers,” he said.

Citing an example of Rwakitura, his upcountry home, President Museveni said that during colonialism that land belonged to the Queen and after independence it belonged to the government of Uganda but after 1995 it now belongs to him.

He said that when making the constitution, the people used logic and knew what they were doing. He explained that when the makers of the constitution saw, for example, that for a cattle keeper to sell his milk to Kampala, he would need roads, they provided within the law, for government to take a portion of someone’s land but also compensate the person for that land for it to be able build a road.

“With the proposed amendment, we are saying that if you are not satisfied with the compensation, there will be tribunals to settle disputes but in the meantime take the money given to you and if the tribunal directs that we add to you more money, government will do so but without you stalling government work,” he said.

The President said that when government compensates someone, he is not the one losing but rather the whole country, as the compensation money, would have been used for some other projects.

“I pity Uganda. It had collapsed and we spent our youth time fighting to bring it back to where it is now. If you have got bogus leaders who see this and say government wants to steal land and go to radios that multiply this nonsense, then the future of your country will be in trouble and I cannot be part of it,” he said.

President Museveni said government could not cheat people when compensating them because before compensation, it finds out the market price of land in an area and then adds an extra 30% to the price of the land. Other allowances, he added, are also included such as the disturbance allowance, the crop and property value allowance, in case the land had crops or buildings on it.

“When government compensates you, you get much more money than the original value of your land. I have seen stories in the media about people who have ran away from the villages to marry more women after being compensated for the road in Kanungu and the railway in Tororo,” he said.

President Museveni who is also the Commander In Chief of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF), used the occasion to warn Army Officers that he would imprison any soldiers cited in land grabbing. He President urged local leaders to write reports about incidents where Army Officers have been cited in land grabbing and forward them to him.

“There are so many avenues to report those people but I have not received a single report from any MP, Local Council 3 or 5 Chairperson, yet you elected these people as your leaders,” he said.

President Museveni dispelled and described as lies, the rumors that there are hidden amendments to the land law and that the public has not been told about by government. He reiterated that the proposed Land Amendment Bill only seeks to make it easier for government to acquire land for public projects.

“While on Unity FM Radio Station in Lira District on Tuesday night sensitizing people about the proposed land amendment bill, one lady called in during that show and asked if there was another proposed amendment to the land law and I told her there was none because all other issues have been addressed before,” he said.

The President explained that the proposed amendment to the land bill does not address the issue of land for investors like some people are saying.

“Land for investors is totally different. We cannot acquire land for investors compulsorily; government cannot acquire land from one private person to another,” he said.

He explained to the people that the only way to acquire land for investors is through persuasion: willing seller and willing buyer and, therefore, government cannot give investors land through compulsory acquisition.

President Museveni also cautioned the public against evil-minded leaders who are anti-development. He said time and again people have questioned his support of investors getting land yet the investors create employment opportunities for the public when they set up their industries and also the taxes they pay are used for government projects such as roads.

“The Bible says that you shall know them by their fruits and you can see the fruits of the opposition- lies and sabotage of the progress of our country,” he said.

Mr. Museveni cited countries, such as the United States of America, that have managed to become rich because of the private sector. “To have leaders who do not know why a President should be the main mover of the private sector, is a disaster,” he noted.

He wondered how the opposition would manage to run the country if they got into power if they cannot be trusted with telling the public the simple truth.

On the issue of wealth creation, President Museveni called upon the people of Northern Uganda to fight poverty in their households. He said that while development is the duty of the government, wealth creation is personal.

“There is a lot of development in Gulu. When I was coming here, I saw the road from the barracks via Acholi Inn, has been redone. Of course the main roads from Nimule to Kampala have also been redone and new roads are going to be constructed as all districts and town councils have been given new road equipment from Japan to work on the roads within the district,” he said.

He emphasized that the public should adopt the 4-acre production model that the NRM has been teaching since 1995, to fight household poverty.

“Use one acre for coffee or tea, another for fruits, the third one for food crops and the last one for cattle, piggery or poultry,” he said.

President Museveni also urged families to desist from fragmenting their land saying that it should be owned jointly by family members as a consolidated unit and only share the proceeds from it.

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Odonga Otto the Aruu County MP

Acholi sub region Members of Parliament from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Party have threatened to block the Madhvani project of sugar cane growing in the area over using government to secure land.

In 2008 Madhvani applied for a 49 lease to acquire land to grow sugar cane at lakang village, Amur Sub County in Amuru district.

The Madhvani Group has been entangled in decade-long fight over 40,000 hectares of land in Amuru district, with residents accusing the government and local leaders of conniving with the sugar production giant to dispose  them from their land.

However,MPs who among them was the Aruu County, Samuel Odonga Otto, Gulu district Woman MP, Betty Aol and Kilak  County north MP, Gilbert Olanya  told the media at Parliament  that the Madhvani project of sugar growing is good to the area but that they are opposed to the  method is using to secure the land from the community  is unacceptable. Adding that if the people is neglected the project would be insecure.

Otto says that Madhvani should consult the land owners and get their consent instead of relying on government to use forceful methods to acquire land.

He said that if Madhvani fails to engage the local community to secure the land, as the Acholi leaders they will mobilize them to protect their land.

Otto says that Acholi people will be like that of Busoga who surrendered their land to sugar cane investors and got  a row deal and are now facing food shortage and living in absolute poverty.

He says that the minister for lands, Betty Amongi, is being misled by cabinet on acquiring this land without consulting people yet she could have moved slowly on this matter.

The post Acholi leaders oppose Madhavani land acquisition for sugar cane growing first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The move follows a petition from Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) demanding that Parliament enacts a law to regulate landlords and tenants to save the frequent confrontations witnessed between land lords and their clients.

KACITA had given an ultimatum of 6^th July 2017 while warning of a mass match in Kampala to demonstrate their disappointment with the powers that be over delayed regulation.

Kadaga however, said the traders are under a mistaken impression that Parliament had deliberately delayed this regulation something that she says Parliament as an institution should not be blamed for.

Kikuubo Lane, one of the busiest streets in downtown Kampala

In June 2016 the matter was raised in the house but the minister for lands, housing and urban development, Betty Amongi, promised to take up the law following the petition raised by MP Juliet Ssuubi Kinyamatama.

Kadaga says that she needs urgent information because the bill is touching a very critical matter that pertains to a sector that is critical to Ugandans.

Minister should do the needful and bring the law to parliament before the traders resort to any other illegal course of action.

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Lands Minister, Betty Amongi.

Lands minister, Betty Amongi, has revealed that the ministry is working tirelessly to come up with a cabinet paper that will see the country have in place a law on real estate agencies coupled with licensing agencies that can access the land registry offices.

According to Amongi, the country is faced with a number of challenges when it comes to land registration as all real estate dealers can access the registry offices which in the long run have fueled fraud in the land registry office.

Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development headquarters.

She further states that only those who will be licensed will be allowed and permitted to deal on land registration matters as also the real estate law will see all real estate dealers registered and fully streamlined to carry out this duty as a way to better the housing sector.

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Lands minister, Betty Amongi

The minister for lands, Betty Amongi, told the parliamentary committee on natural resources on Thursday that the move will help the ministry to control environmental sensitive areas including rivers, natural ponds and forest reserves for the common good of citizens of Uganda.

Amongi says that no leaseholds should be given out on such protected natural resources and that she directed the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to issue the ministry of lands with an atlas of wetlands to make it easy for them to identify them.

“Some people need to be reminded that these are wetlands and forest reserves so that they stop their encroachments on restricted areas. There is a lot of encroachments going on these areas in many parts of this country and this spells doom if not checked in time,” Amongi charged, before adding, “NEMA should avail an atlas of wetlands to the ministry of lands so that we check this behavior”.

The Kinawataka wetland in Kireka, a Kampala suburb, which has been encroached on by unknown people.

The committee chairperson, Alex Byarugaba says that following the MP’s visit they have discovered that people are holding land tittles of the protected areas which is posing a big threat to the environment.

The post Amongi to cancel all land titles in wetlands, forests and wild life reserves. first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Betty Amongi

Women Members of Parliament have condemned the acts of women stripping naked in some parts of the country over land grabbing. Addressing a news conference at parliament, the women MPs under the Uganda Parliamentary Women Association said that they do not support women stripping naked to demand justice for any matters.

The chairperson of the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association Betty Amongi, Butambala district woman MP Mariam Nalubega and Zombo district women MP Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny said that women can use other mechanism to peruse their demands other than undressing.

Amongi said that they are going to investigate the issue of the increasing women stripping naked in protest. She said that they want to know whether there are some people with selfish interests using women to undress. She added that women’s rights can be articulated in a decent manner which respects the dignity of womanhood.

MPS said that, to see the nakedness of elder women is a taboo and curse but in a digital era it does not work. Recently ten women undressed over a controversy 980 acres of land on which Teso College Aloet is located and where Soroti University is being constructed. At another scene, at a disputed area in Apaa parish where a mark stone was to be erected to demarcate the boundary between Amuru and Adjumani districts, women protesters undressed before Minister for Lands Daudi Migereko and Internal Affairs Minister Gen Aronda Nyakairima who had visited the contested land.

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They say that the ministry favours some district hospitals while distributing resources living others in a demanding situation.

According to Oyam county south mp Betty Amongi, the way the resources are distributed is unconstitutional and therefore ministry of health has to consider giving all the referral hospitals the same amount of money.

She says that the ministry has to treat all the regions equally in order to have people who are health with better health serves.

Amongi says that such imbalances have left some hospitals in bad shape thus exposing citizens in those areas to health problems.

She also called for the re-allocation of resources such that the ministry headquarters receives 30% of the budget instead of 70% as it is in the current budget.

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Speaking shortly after the elections of new Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) executive at Parliament, Kadaga said a lot is in place to be handled by during this 9^th Parliament which will only be possible with clear focus.

MP Betty Amongi

She pledged to allocate space to enable women speak on several issues affecting especially children and women but warned legislators against scoring points at the expense of others.

UPC’s Betty Amongi (Oyam south) was elected thee new UWOPA chairperson after she beat MP Rosemary Nyakikongoro (Sheema district) by only one vote.

Nyakikongoro was however unanimously voted as vice chairperson, Franca Akello is the new general secretary, and Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny is publicity secretary while Margret Komuhangi was voted Treasurer.

Others are Connie Nakayenze, Emma Boona, Juliana Auma and Grace Namara as regional representatives for East, West, North and Central respectively.

By Isaac Senabulya

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UPC President Olara Otunu

Yesterday a group led by party’s chief whip Betty Amongi and Jimmy Akena sat at Christ the King and condemned the leadership of the party saying it was illegally elected.

UPC Vice President Joseph Bbosa says UPC as a peaceful and a democratic party instituted various organs for members to express their opinions and concerns but none of them has ever appeared before the organs.

Bbosa adds that in two weeks time back, the party had a retreat summit and if the group had the party at heart as they claim they would have brought their claims on board than using media.

By Isaac Senabulya

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