Business & Finance, Monitor June 7 - 13, 2005
Rampant forgery of land titles threatens business
Martin Luther Oketch
As we talk here, there is land title forgery going on in town. Land titles are forged in this country almost after every two to three hours
KAMPALA
LAND title forgeries have become so rampant in Uganda that almost every two to three hours, a land title is forged on Luwum and William Street in Kampala.
The private lawyers and bank officials say the Ugandan Land Registry is antiquated and operates with little transparency.
At a workshop of lawyers and bankers to review the delivery of services at the Uganda Land Registry held on June 2 at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, participants agreed that the Land Registry is generally viewed as a hindrance to investment and development.
A former Chief Registrar of the Uganda Land Registry, Mr Yusfu Kagumira, said there are rampant land title forgeries in the country besides the persistent hiding of records in the Land Registry Office in the ministry of Lands and Environment.
"As we talk here, there is land title forgery going on in town. Land titles are forged in this country on Luwum and William Street almost after every two to three hours," he said.
Kagumira said when he was a chief registrar, he had 17 registrars with assistants, all of them qualified lawyers. "But today at the Land Registry, there are only three officers in sensitive offices because the department is understaffed and under funded," he said. He said perpetrators of land title forgeries in Uganda find it so simple to forge and there is nothing being done to curb the crime.
The Land Act of 1998 identifies the complex land laws in Uganda. While foreign companies may hold land under long-term lease, they may not own it freehold.
Currently, foreigners must seek cabinet approval through the Uganda Investment Authority for land to be used for agricultural or animal production purposes.
Last year, the government proposed to invest over $20 million over five years to update and modernise the land registry.
While the government has not initiated an
y
changes to allow foreign investors to purchase freehold property, these procedural upgrades may make land transfers easier for joint ventures with majority Ugandan ownership.
Land Registry Commissioner, Mr Jonathan Tibisasa, admitted that there is disappearance of documents in the Land Registry office but said getting the smuggled documents back in the office is very difficult and it is also difficult to know where they have gone. "It is better for us to computerise the system in future for trucking purposes," he said.
Asset
Mr Moses Adriko, the President of the Uganda Law Society, said the role of Land Registry in the economy cannot be overstated; Land constitutes one of the most important asset base for the generation of capital for investment.
"It is also important factor of production. The provision of information on land in form of a title certificate of occupancy converts a dead asset into capital," he said. Adriko said, "We as lawyers are intermediaries between the Land Registry and members of the public. Our role is to provide timely and professional services to the public, this contribute to the well being of the economy".
He said the poor services at the Lang Registry characterised by: poor and chaotic state of the manual records, poor service delivery, tattered o
r
missing records, weak standards procedures and archaic techniques have made the work of lawyers a nightmare.
"We are unable to render a service to our clients and the principal importance of the registry as a sector of our national wealth is now in question," he said.
Bad for economy
The Head of Legal/Company Secretary Stanbic Bank Uganda Ltd, Mr William Kasozi, said the poor state of the Land Registry office was negatively impacting on investment "Use of land as a security is undermined, loss of business opportunities, loss of funds where title is forged and lack of expediency impacts on internal customer service commitments are a common phenomena in Uganda today," he said.
The Chairman of the Uganda Bankers Association who is also the Managing Director of Orient Bank, Mr Samwiri H.K. Njuki, said the private sector is ready to raise funds for training, while Uganda Law Society is will facilitate the training.
Mr Nick Mbuvi Managing Director Barclays Bank Uganda Ltd. told Daily
Monitor
that the bankers want accuracy of land titles, validity, completeness and currency of the land title.
"These requirements helps us bankers to know if the land title being presented for collaterals is genuine," he said.
The workshop agreed and unanimously adopted eight action plans as a way forward in helping the land registry restructure land registration process in Uganda. One of the eight action plans is to create a user committee within a month.
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