Land Governance in an Interconnected WorldAnnual World Bank Conference on Land and PovertyWashington DC, March 19-23, 2018

Land as a Driver of Inequality in UgandaAuthor(s) - Ochom Jonathan, Muhumuza Fred,Kyomugisha Rebecca,Mbabazi Harriet

A�liation - Oxfam/Uganda

Author’s Email Address - Jonathan.Ochom@oxfam.org

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The proximate causes of inequality take place within a social-political framework that governs ownership and usage of key production resources like land. This paper seeks to show the ways in which land use and tenure insecurity in Uganda contribute to growing income inequality, poverty and hinder sustainable development.Inequities in land ownership and access are possibly one of the most common injustices that have persisted in Uganda since the pre-colonial times. Unfair land use policies and practices and the lack of security of tenure must be immediately addressed if Uganda is to achieve its development goals under the National Development Plan II and most of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Oxfam is working in Uganda together with partners to address the drivers of extreme inequality and injustice

1. Gender biased land ownership: In most Ugandan communities, land ownership is patriarchal which worsens women’s situation in case of any decisions/threats to the land. In the event of compensation both land and monetary, the beneficiaries are mainly men (“the owners”). Often, women, in case of displacement will experience reduced agricultural productivity and income as they depend on family and kin for land access and labor.

2. Gaps in the management of public land: The gaps in records of government land have facilitated encroachment as well as land grabbing by investors/individuals through government agencies. The illegitimate transfer of intrinsic public wealth to individuals enables them to generate more wealth using a bigger endowment base, perpetuating inequality.

3. Land Based Investments: Most land in Uganda is held under the undocumented customary tenure. Uganda’s development policy approach treats land as a tradable commodity in the market to ease access for large scale land investments that are largely foreign direct investments. This is often at the expense of small-holder farmers with no registered ownership of interest over their land. Accordingly, the compensation processes and the challenges that arise have profound effects on both the wealth and income disparities.

4. Multiple land disputes and inadequate resolution mechanisms: Land disputes are prevalent in Uganda and constitute 25.2% (3rd highest) of the court case backlog. Lack of an effective dispute resolution mechanism that provides an equal opportunity for the poor is one of the most critical aspects that perpetrate inequality in Uganda.

5. Environmental Effects of Large Scale Development Projects: A common feature of most development projects is not only the displacement of people but also the negative effects on the environment and disruptions to the ecosystem including water and vegetation, which reduce the productivity of several local enterprises in the surrounding areas.

1. Scale up the registration of customary land in a gender & culturally- sensitive way so as to protect the interests of most of the population.

2. Introduce a strong law which requires Parliamentary approval of any transfer of public land to the private sector, especially for cases lasting over 5 years and involving land over a certain value (US$ 100,000).

3. Government should strengthen the provision of legal aid service to cover land matters since most victims of land injustices are poor/vulnerable people who cannot afford to hire private lawyers to protect their land rights.

4. The assessment of compensation should consider World Bank recommendations on social economic support mechanisms that are surrounding the household to ensure restoration of a similar level of livelihood during compensation.

5.The UN through the UNFCCC, should hold the Uganda government accountable to its’ commitment to investment in eco-systems restoration that will convert the land use change and forestry sector sustenance (2015 NDCs).

The methodology involved collection of both primary and secondary data as well as use of qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Description and analysis of trends in land ownership, use and security in Uganda

Analysis of the extent to which the observed trends cause and/or perpetrate inequality by way of determining inclusive

and gainful involvement in economic activities.

Field data used to describe the trends and impacts of land ownership, use and security on specific individuals/groups

among women, youth, small-scale farmers

Making recommendations for policy and practice on how the dynamics in land ownership and use can be altered to

resolve inequality in Uganda.

Description of the legal, cultural forms of ownership of land

Secondary data information used to highlight and review various land-based economic activities of different social groupings, and how these have changed over time.

Interviews with the communities used to explain specific relationships between trends in land ownership and use, and economic activities for selected vulnerable groups.

Observations made on the relationships between development outcomes (inequality) and nature of economic activities as determined by land ownership and use.

Relate the observed activities and changes therein to outcomes (welfare indicators) and distribution (inequality) for selected groups.

Description of the developments and trends in ownership and use of land in Uganda.

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