Uganda has never had a clearly defined National Land Policy since it attained its independence in 1962. The 1995 Constitution of Uganda and the Land Act 1998 did not address the fundamental issues in land tenure system due to absence of clear policy principles to inform the enactment of legislation that offers politically and socially acceptable and technically feasible solutions.
The key policy issues which have not been addressed include the following:
- The historical injustices and colonial legacies,
- The contemporary issues, mainly arising from such legacies;
- The land use and land management issues.
Uganda is faced with the challenges of a rapidly growing population which has put pressure and competition on the scarce land resources. The issue is further complicated by lack of land management policy emphasizing sustainable and optimal use of the land. As a result of lack of policy on optimal use of the land, a lot of land in some parts of Uganda is under-utilized and inefficiently managed.
There is no clear government policy on the management of government land, public land and public trust natural resources, leading to inefficiency and abuse.
Land administration is inadequately resourced, and it is performing very poorly in service delivery.
To address the above issues, the Government of Uganda is in the process of developing a Draft National Land Policy, 2011 with a vision of Sustainable and optimal use of land and land-based resources for poverty reduction, wealth creation and overall socio-economic development.