The Lands ministry, working with UN-Habitat and the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), launched a campaign of surveying and demarcating land for willing landowners at no cost. The beneficiaries who officially apply for the exercise receive Customary Land Identification Numbers (CLIN) and are issued with certificates as one of the strategies of increasing access to land and tenure security for all.
It also gives the owner a sense of self-sufficiency and independence and allowing them to easily bequeath their property as they may wish. The title also gives security of tenure and allows women be accorded the right to land ownership.
The giveaway of certificates caused a lot of excitement to mainly elderly widows who applauded the Government for offering them the certificates, which they said gave them security on their land.
The Land Act 1998 recognises four categories of land tenure systems, including customary, freehold, mailo and leasehold. It states that all Uganda citizens owning land under customary tenure may acquire a certificate of ownership in a manner prescribed by Parliament
PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A CERTIFICATE OF CUSTOMARY OWNERSHIP
- Obtain 3 copies of Land Form 1 (Application for CCO) from the District Land office/Area Land Committee/Ministry website and fill in Part 1 and attach 3 passport photos
- Submit the Filled Application Forms to the Chairperson Area Land Committee, Pay an Application fee of 5,000/= and obtain a receipt and an Acknowledgement note signed by the Chairman
- Using Form 9 (public notice), the Area Land Committee issues a public notice and places it in a prominent place in the Parish and on the Land applied for a period not less than 14 days
- After 14 days, ALC inspects the land to mark boundaries by planting trees, rights of way/easements. The ALC Fills in 3 copies of Form 23 (Demarcation form) and draws the Sketch map which is allocated a Unique Number. Leave one copy with the Applicant.
- ALC prepares a detailed Inspection report with Recommendations and records the interests and rights in the land for women, absent persons, minors, and persons with/under disabilities if any.
- Submit the documents (Form 1, Form 9, Form 23 and the inspection report) to the District Land office for Checking and Submission to the District Land Board
- The Board accepts/rejects with reasons and sends a copy of the decision to the recorder
- The Recorder fills in the CLIN register, abstract book and two Certificates of Customary Ownership (Registrar’s and Owner’s Copy). The Applicant is invited to sign the certificates and the Recorder signs too.
- The two certificates are sent to the Secretary of the DLB for affixing a seal of the DLB and returned to the recorder who records it in the Register of Certificates of Customary Ownership
- The Applicant is invited to pay a fee of 5,000/= to the Sub-county and the owners’ copy of the CCO is issued
