Uganda: EU, World Bank sign shs 31 bln memorandum to support land administration

The world Bank and European Union granted 9.08 million dollars (approximately shs 31.8 billion) funds to Uganda so that Uganda could strengthen its land tenure system in the Northern and Eastern regions of the country; as per the Head of the EU delegation to Uganda, Attilio Pacifici.

The EU head of the delegation told this news in a groundbreaking signing ceremony held at Protea Hotel on Thursday and added that the grant would be paid over four years through the World Bank administered Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF).

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According to Pacifici, the fund raises donor contributions and invests in strategic areas to promote the effective implementation of Uganda’s national development plans and priorities in order to achieve the national Vision 2040.

He stated that it would aid both recipient-executed and bank-executed activists in strengthening land administration and management systems, providing land tenure security, and resolving land disputes.

“This European Union assistance will strengthen land rights security by consolidating the demarcation and documentation of individually and communally owned customary lands, while ensuring the inclusion of vulnerable people of both genders,” Ambassador Pacifici said.

The MDTF, which praises the World Bank’s lending, advisory and analytical support, has been active since 2018.

It will financially support the activities directed towards five key areas: strengthening of public investment management, community resilience, promotion of green growth, private sector development and job creation, and promoting development effectiveness.

According to the World Bank Country Manager for Uganda, “Mukami Kariuki” this funding would complete activities to modernize and scale up the land administration system in Uganda, which is currently being supported under the World Bank-funded $ 200 million Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project.

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Furthermore, Kariuki stated that the help of these activities would speed up the provision of land ownership and use documents to Ugandans, which allow them to enjoy better land tenure security and leverage the economic potential of land assets.

The Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development is the critical counterpart in implementing the activities under this grant.

The funding will improve the ministry’s capability to scale up SLAAC by automating procedures for issuing Customary Certificates of Ownership (CCOs), which will be used to process and deliver officially recognised land ownership and use documents to men and women in northern and eastern Uganda.

The World Bank will execute some critical activities in coordination with the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development.

At the signing ceremony, Sam Mayanja, the Minister of State for Lands, illustrated Judith Nabakooba, the Minister for Lands.

In a statement, Mayanja, on behalf of Nabakooba, said: “Government of Uganda welcomes the extra support from the European Union via the World Bank to support land tenure administration and management systems.”

“Your efforts to support Uganda’s land Development Model sought at moving peasants from the informal economy to the market economy using their land to support them.”