Minister Nabakooba Directs Village Leaders to Recover Loan Funds, Streamline Land Disputes

Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba has issued a directive to newly elected village chairpersons across Mityana District, tasking them with the crucial responsibility of tracing beneficiaries of government livelihood programs. The objective is to ensure the repayment of funds disbursed as revolving loans, thereby enabling these schemes to benefit a wider segment of the community.

Minister Nabakooba emphasized that leaders must obtain comprehensive lists of beneficiaries for programs such as the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP), Emyooga, Parish Development Model (PDM), and GROW. They are to verify if beneficiaries are still actively engaged in the enterprises for which the funds were allocated. The minister highlighted that the success of these revolving funds hinges on continuous circulation, urging leaders to actively recover disbursed loans to allow for broader community benefit.

Citing the Emyooga program as an example, Nabakooba noted that poor loan recovery in Mityana has hindered access to additional funding. She stressed the importance of tracking beneficiaries and enforcing repayment to maintain the fund’s integrity.

Furthermore, the Minister announced a significant shift in how land transactions and disputes are managed at the local level. Village leaders are now prohibited from handling these matters individually. All land-related issues must be channeled through the district security committee before being escalated to town councils and then village leadership. This new protocol aims to eliminate conflicting directives from various government offices and mitigate potential legal exposure for local officials. Leaders were also cautioned against allowing unauthorized land measurements before ownership is definitively established and advised to refrain from interfering in land cases already before the courts.

Regarding busuulu (nominal ground rent), village chairpersons are now required to verify ownership before confirming payments by lawful kibanja holders. Confirmed ownership letters will then be forwarded to the area land committee for further assessment.

The directive was made during induction meetings as part of Nabakooba’s tour of Mityana District, underscoring the government’s commitment to ensuring the effective implementation and management of its development programs and local governance structures.