ARUA CITY RESIDENTS QUESTION PROPOSED INCREASE IN LAND DOCUMENTATION FEES

A farmer clearing land for planting potatoes in Arua City. Photo// Dramadri Federick

By Dramadri Federick

Arua City

Residents in Arua City are questioning a proposal by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to increase fees for land registration and other title-related services, warning that the changes could make formal land ownership unaffordable for ordinary citizens.

Under the proposed fee structure, registering a certificate of title would cost 50,000 shillings, up from the current 10,000 shillings. Replacing a lost land title would rise from 15,000 to 200,000 shillings.

Transferring, leasing or surrendering land would cost 50,000 shillings, compared with the current 10,000 shillings. Lodging or removing a caveat would attract a charge of 30,000 shillings, while transactions requiring documents to be dispatched through the post office would cost 20,000 shillings, up from 5,000 shillings.

The proposed increases have raised questions about how the government can expand formal land registration while increasing the financial barriers faced by citizens seeking to document their property.

Nadia Idi Hassan the female councilor for Awindiri Ward says that increasing the cost of land registration could further discourage property owners from securing formal documentation, potentially leaving more families vulnerable to land disputes, fraud and competing ownership claims.

She argues that although formal land documentation can help protect property rights, the government should consider the financial circumstances of citizens before increasing the cost of accessing registration services.

Nadia fears that residents who cannot afford the proposed fees could postpone registration, leaving their property vulnerable to disputes, fraudulent transactions and competing ownership claims. “Do not rush the poor people to pay heavy taxes, some of them will run away, let’s go slow otherwise this will have a negative impact of the economy”. Nadia says

Jamal Nasur, a resident of Arua city is calling on the Ministry of Lands to conduct wider public consultations and sensitization campaigns before introducing the proposed changes.

He questions how many Ugandans currently hold formal land titles and whether the public has received sufficient information about the existing registration process, its benefits and the proposed charges.

“First of all how many people have land titles? How many people have information about land titling before this new proposals jet in? We expect the minister to organize a baraza about land titling to sensitize the people about the costs”. Jamal stated

However, the Ministry of Lands has defended the proposed fee review, arguing that existing charges have remained largely unchanged since 1998 despite rising operational costs.

Denis Obbo the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer says the review is intended to align charges with the current cost of providing land administration services. He explains that the proposed fees are not yet in force and remain subject to consideration and approval by the Ministry of Finance, Cabinet and parliament before implementation

“We are still for consultations, it also has to be approved by Ministry of Finance, Cabinet and eventually Parliament before rolling it out.” Obbo responded.

Data from Uganda National Land Information System (UgNLIS) indicates that Uganda has a geographical area of approximately 241,550 square kilometres, equivalent to 24.155 million hectares, of which only 30% about 6.5 million hectares is formally titled, while 17.65 million hectares accounting for 70% of the land remain untitled or held under customary and other land arrangements.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis