Assessing the impact of disputes on compulsory land acquisition in uganda

Abstract

This research was aimed at assessing the impact of disputes on compulsory land acquisition in Uganda. Compulsory acquisition of land is basically the process by which the government or the state takes or acquires land belonging to individuals for public use and benefit such as the provision of basic infrastructure that will promote economic, cultural, health and social wellbeing of its citizens. For this development to take place the government needs to acquire land that will act as platform for such interventions. Yet despite being a core and necessary governmental power, compulsory acquisition has always attracted controversy, both in theory and practice. The need to strictly adhere to the rules and procedures of the legislative tool and also delayed payment of compensation has become obvious and apparent. Considering these intricacies and complications involved in the compulsory acquisition process the country requires some perceptible revision that will promote good practices among governments at local, regional and national levels. The main objective of the study was achieved by answering the secondary objectives formulated to carry out the study and these include; To find out the extent to which the land acquisition process is being implemented in Uganda; To assess the various causes of land disputes during compulsory acquisition; To find out the extent of delays in compensation projects for road construction. The methodology applied on this research was done through qualitative and quantitative analytical framework. The research design used for the research was the case study approach to put the study in context. Other issues the study considered include the pattern of land ownership in Uganda and procedures for exercising compulsory acquisition. Some suggestions are made as to how the process can be improved in future. It is hoped that the lessons learned from this case study will be informative to decision makers not only in Uganda but also in other developing countries where government projects caused a lot of discontentment on the part of the people affected on one hand and the government on the other. Hence, the study seeks to outline ways whereby some of these problems can be minimized in order to ensure that compulsory acquisition is effectively carried out in the near future.