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In the 1960s Uganda was one of the most prosperous and promising countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with buoyant performances in its health and education sectors.

However, the turmoil of the post-independence period stalled progress on development, and by the late 1970s the Ugandan economy had ground to a halt

A degree of economic recovery began from the mid-1980s, following the guerrilla war that ushered in the new regime of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

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Rising Economic Inequality: What's Next?

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Rising Economic Inequality: What's Next?

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Rich have grown richer while the poor have become poorer, despite overall economic growth.

The richest 10 percent of Uganda’s population enjoy over one- third (35.7 percent) of national income, and this proportion has grown by nearly 20 percent over the past two decades.

The richest 20 percent claim just over half of all national income, this proportion having increased by almost 14 percent over this period.

The poorest 20 percent have only 5.8 percent of national income, and this share has declined by 20.6 percent. The portion of national income held by the poorest 10 percent is declining at almost the same rate as that of the richest 10 percent is growing. For the poorest 20 percent, the proportion is declining more rapidly than that of the richest 20 percent is growing.

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With regard to the rule of law, Uganda ranked #118 in a comparison of 209 countries and territories.

Rule of law refers to the influence and authority of law within society, particularly in terms of its efficacy as a deterrent against negative behaviours, including those exhibited by government officials.

This indicator presents information about the level of confidence that the population of a specific country places in its legal authorities and law enforcement system as well as information about the probability of crime and violence to occur in that country.

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Uganda’s economy is made up of the Agriculture 24.2%; Industry 25.5%; and Services 50.3% sectors.

The Agricultural sector includes Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Dairy, and Crop sub-sectors.

Agriculture accounts for a large share of Uganda’s export earnings and its GDP, as well as providing the main source of income for the vast majority of the adult population. Farmers, working an average of less than 3 acres (1 hectare), provide more than half of the agricultural production. They are largely based in the south, where there is more rainfall and fertile soil.

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In a country where most people depend directly on land, laws and policies governing its use and management support big investors rather than ordinary Ugandans. They exclude the poorest from enjoying their land rights while benefiting corporations and already wealthy individuals.

Inequality in land use, management, and governance especially affects already vulnerable people and marginalized communities such as women, pastoralists, youth, and smallholder farmers.

National policies prioritize economic growth through privatization and consolidation of land for big infrastructural or agricultural projects.

Specific laws and practises: https://uganda.action4justice.org/legal_areas/land-rights-introduction/land-disputes-problems-ownership-rights/

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LAND RIGHTS IN UGANDA

Defend your community against such practices as land grabs, illegal evictions and other infringements of your rights.

The Chapter focuses on the various land disputes either arising out of the type of land tenure or domestic relations down to the disputes that could arise from government actions
In our daily transactions with land, many disputes often arise as to: who owns the land; the rights one has concerning the land; the distinction between occupation and ownership of land; how one can protect his/her use of land; and many others. Today's land problems in Uganda have been shaped by various aspects of history and vary depending on the different land tenure systems.

Problems under Customary land tenure

It is worth noting that under customary land tenure, land is not registered. Due to this, a number of problems arise as there is no conclusive evidence of ownership. These problems include the following;

1. Land grabbing due to the fact that the customary land owner cannot easily prove that he/she actually owns the land.

2. Difficulty in establishing whether one has any sort of interest over the land.

3. Difficulty in establishing which interest takes precedence over the other. This is because unlike other tenures like freehold where the interests in land are registered at the registry and precedence depends on who registered first, this is not the case with customary tenure as land is not registered. It therefore becomes difficult to determine which interest comes before the other.

4. High chances of encroachment since land is in many cases not titled and does not have express boundaries.

Problems under Mailo tenure

Though preferred by many, it is also coupled with a number of problems which include the following:

1. Absentee landlords.. The law requires, as a mandatory prerequisite, that the tenant pays the busulu and in case of default, the landlord can apply to court to take over the land. Thus, the landlords sometimes hide purposely to defeat the tenant's attempts to pay. In such a case, there is a conflict between the two parties which could easily lead to eviction of the tenant by the landlord.

2. Rampant Evictions. It should be noted that titling of land and registration of interests of land is expected to guarantee safety of one's interest. However even with all this in place, the issue of evictions seems to somewhat persist with mailo land. This eviction, as already stated is usually caused by absentee landlords that claim failure by the tenant to pay for the land use.

Conflicts in a family context

Many of the disputes and conflicts regarding land often arise in the family setting and include:

1. The struggle for the ownership and occupancy of land which often arises between relatives and siblings since the many parties in the family setting usually have competing interests in the same land.

2. Segregation against women when it comes to inheriting land given the predominantly patriarchal society in Uganda. It is worth noting that according to the law, both women and men are equal and can own land. However in many family settings, women are not allowed to own land which brings about several conflicts and disputes. For instance in an average traditional Ugandan family with 8 boys and 1 girl child, when it comes to inheritance of land, there is a high likelihood of the girl not getting any land which is against the law and could bring about conflicts and disputes.

Land grabbing and arbitrary eviction in Uganda

Land grabbing is a commonplace problem. There have been in recent times several complaints of land grabbing and arbitrary massiv e land evictions across the country. Some of the recent cases include:

Evictions in Kalangala District where people were mercilessly evicted by investor palm oil companies like BIDCO.

Evictions in Bukaleba forest reserve where a Norwegian forest group grabbed between 80,000 - 100,000 hectares replaced it with pine and eucalyptus. Over 13 villages comprising 0f 8,000 people were displaced.

Evictions in Luwunga forest reserve in Kiboga, by New Forest Company affecting 20,000 people in order to clear the forest and replace it with pine trees.

The issue of Fraudulent acquisition of Land

In Uganda, it is a common practice for people especially investors to acquire land from the poor in a fraudulent manner. This is usually in a way that the less advantaged are forced into transactions they do not fully understand and it is through such shady transactions that they are lured into passing on their property. For instance in Osokoru, Tororo district government awarded a mining lease to a Chinese Company to mine phosphates. The occupants of the area signed a lease agreement for 99 years as opposed to the 21 years they thought they were signing which left them landless.

There is widespread perception that the powerful and wealthy community members take precedence over ownership and boundaries in order to grab land. This land grabbing issue is a global problem that has been criticized by several parties and on many occasions. For instance in the Tirana Declaration 2011*** which denounces all forms of land grabbing whether international or national. It also denounces all the local land grabs particularly by powerful local elites within in communities or among family members.

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Land Disputes: Problems with Ownership and Rights - Uganda - Action4Justice

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The Chapter focuses on the various land disputes either arising out of the type of land tenure or domestic relations down to the disputes that could arise from government actions In our daily transactions with land, many disputes often arise as to: who owns the land; the rights one has concerning the land; the distinction [...]

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Compared to many countries, the Ugandan tax system relies disproportionately on excise taxes, imposed on broad categories of consumption goods, which represented around 8% of total revenues in 2018.

Tax collections are undermined by widespread evasion, lax enforcement, and a large informal sector (valued at as much as half of the country’s economy). Among a population of 42 million, the tax authority has registered fewer than two million taxpayers.

According to the OECD, Uganda collected 11.8% of GDP in taxes in 2018, below the 16.5% average for African nations.

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Unfair Property Rights: Land Distribution

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Unfair Property Rights: Land Distribution

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Under the colonial-era mailo system of land tenure, land was distributed to loyalists and particular families while leaving out most of the population, and the inequalities created during colonial times have persisted to this day.

Laws such as the Land Act and the Registration of Titles Act (Cap 230) assume that landlords and tenants can always negotiate terms on a level playing field. The reality, however, is that often tenants have no voice against the wealth and power of landlords, who can make decisions with no regard for their rights.

These tenants are usually the poorest of the poor and, with their land interest dependent on the goodwill of landlords, they are at risk of being left even poorer. Thus, far from being a way of delivering people out of poverty, Uganda’s attempts at land redistribution – combined with poor land governance – have further driven a wedge between rich and poor. Land provides the only hope of getting out of poverty for many poor people. If they lose their land rights, they lose their only source of income, are unable to educate their children and their families risk remaining in poverty for generations.

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Further Reading: Strengths and Weaknesses of Uganda

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Further Reading: Strengths and Weaknesses of Uganda

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Uganda is currently engaged in the construction of a number of national- and regional-level infrastructure projects under a framework set by the East African Community (EAC). These projects include the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line linking Uganda with Kenya at a cost of $3.6bn, the Karuma hydroelectric dam ($1.7bn), an oil refinery ($9bn) and oil pipeline ($4bn) and roads.

While such infrastructure will undoubtedly bring long-term benefits, in the short to medium terms the costs are likely to be borne by poor citizens. Issues include mounting public debt and the displacement of poor households.

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Firstly, such projects are very costly and the government has had to borrow heavily to finance them, adding to its already heavy foreign debt burden, which is currently estimated at $7.4bn. With GDP at $27bn, it becomes apparent that the country is choking on debt, and the implication is that future generations will have to repay it.

Secondly, the returns on large-scale infrastructure investments are generally only seen over a long timeframe. This means that in the short and medium terms, the government needs to find ways of stimulating the economy to boost production and economic activity. To deal with the burden of long-term debt repayment, it is likely that spending on social services will be reduced, disproportionately affecting poor people.

In addition, large-scale infrastructure projects often lead to a large number of poor households being uprooted and displaced; this has already happened in Hoima in Western region to make way for the oil refinery project. While in most cases some form of compensation is paid, it is usually late and inadequate, and people who are displaced often struggle to adapt to new locations and end up being poorer.

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Anecdotal evidence from Mbarara district in western Uganda illustrates the growing gap between the haves and the have- nots. Mbarara has the lowest levels of poverty in the country after the central region, but the extension of liberalization policies to education has led to a decline in the quality of education offered by government schools. This is because privately-owned schools have drained skilled staff from public schools, which cannot afford to match their levels of remuneration and standards of staff welfare.

To get to school, children in rural areas depend on inadequate infrastructure that cannot withstand harsh weather and so in the rainy season are sometimes forced to miss classes. Because teachers are not motivated, there is a high rate of teacher absenteeism, estimated at 12 percent per week. This is in contrast with elite primary schools in urban areas, where there is an average of two teachers per class of 40 pupils.

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Further Reading: The state of Uganda's Economy

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Further Reading: The state of Uganda's Economy

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Further Reading: Uganda Inequality Report

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Further Reading: Uganda Inequality Report