Rethinking the processes of land valuation and compensation in Uganda

On 16^th August 2019, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung held a high level policy dialogue on rethinking the processes of land valuation and compensation in Uganda at Hilton Garden Inn. The dialogue was attended by participants from Ministry of Lands, CSOs working on land, Government agencies like UNRA, UETCL, Surveyors, and representatives from Land Commission of Kenya among others.

The dialogue provided a platform for selected policymakers and implementers, law makers, academics, valuers, development partners, politicians and the general public from Uganda and Kenya to debate how best valuation  and compensation  issues may be addressed to prevent land conflicts especially in the wake of compulsory land acquisition for development projects.

Policy recommendations to the government were suggested during the dialogue. These include enacting a robust Valuation Law (like Valuers Act of Kenya), amending the Land Acquisition Actto suit the current challenges in valuation, involving the public in valuation processes, creation of a data bank for land market information, similar to the Land Value Index Act (2019) of Kenya, involving the public in the ongoing consultations for the Land Acquisition Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy, translating  the guidelines for compensation assessment to the different languages in Uganda to benefit PAPs who are not literate, and make them easier to understand but also available, improved funding to the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development as well as other stakeholders like District Land Boards, Zonal Offices among others.