Abstract
The Republic of Uganda is one of the five countries within the East African region. Uganda’s efforts to increase land productivity are hampered by land tenure insecurity related problems. For more than ten years, Fit for Purpose Land Administration (FFPLA) pilot projects have been implemented in various parts of the country. Uganda is now in advanced stages of developing a country strategy for implementing a fit for purpose approach to land administration, to define the interventions, time and cost required to transform the existing formal (western type) land administration system into an administration system that is based on FFPLA principles. This paper reviews three case studies to investigate how lessons learnt from pilot projects informed a FFPLA country implementation strategy. The review is based on data collected during the development of the FFPLA strategy, in which the authors directly participated. The data collection methods included document review, field visits and interviews with purposively selected respondents from the pilot sites and institutions that had piloted FFPLA in Uganda. The study identified that pilot projects are beneficial in highlighting specific gaps in spatial, legal and institutional frameworks, that have potential to constrain FFPLA implementation. Pilot projects provided specific data for informed planning, programing and costing key interventions in the FFPLA country implementation strategy. The lessons learnt from the pilot projects, informed the various steps and issues considered while developing the national strategy for implementing a FFPLA approach in Uganda. On the other hand, the study identified that uncoordinated pilot projects are potential sources of inconsistencies in data and products, which may be cumbersome to harmonize at a national level. In order to implement a fit for purpose approach for land administration at a national level, it is necessary to consolidate the lessons leant from pilots into a unified country implementation strategy.
Highlights
Like many developing countries, Uganda is faced with challenges of making the best use of its land and natural resources to support a large proportion of the population living in rural areas
Improved possibilities under the existing legal framework: The implementation of pilot projects on Fit for Purpose Land Administration (FFPLA) in Uganda benefited from relatively recent laws that were enacted after the 1995 constitution
A review of the three case studies in Uganda has revealed the benefits of implementing a fit for purpose approach to land administration as a means to secure tenure rights in a fast, cheap, universal and non-discriminatory manner
Summary
Uganda is faced with challenges of making the best use of its land and natural resources to support a large proportion of the population living in rural areas. A FFPLA approach requires an implementation strategy, if it is to be up-scaled from site-specific projects to a national level [14] Such a strategy should define the interventions, time and cost required to transform the existing formal (western type) land administration system into an administration system that is based on FFPLA principles [15]. The term “fit-For-purpose” means applying the spatial, legal, and institutional frameworks that are most fit for the purpose of providing secure tenure for all [16] This approach will enable the building of national land administration systems within a reasonable time and at affordable cost. This is followed by a review of the evolution of the land administration concept and the nature of customary tenure system in Uganda, where most of the FFLA pilots have taken place. This provides the basis for developing a FFPLA national strategy as presented in Section 6, followed by discussions and conclusions in Sections 7 and 8, respectively
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