Assessing the effect of land tenure on the implementation of Land use regulations in Uganda: Case study Kawempe Parish in Kampala City.

Abstract

There are different land tenure systems in Kampala city with competing legitimacy claims under the different systems. Despite the laws and regulations put in place to guide and regulate proper use of land, planned developments continue to co-exist with informal and illegal developments and the situation seems to vary from one tenure system to another. The general objective of the study was to assess the effects of land tenure systems on the implementation of land use regulations in Kampala City. The specific objectives included; identifying the level of tenure security and accessibility to different land tenure systems, determining the level of implementation of land use regulations on different land tenure systems in Kampala, determining the implications of land tenure on the implementation of land use regulations in Kampala city. The researcher collected data from 78 respondents of whom 10 were purposively selected and 68 were randomly selected from land owners in Kawempe. Data was collected using a combination of in- depth interviews and questionnaires as well as analysis of secondary data sources. The findings of the study show the land use regulations are not fully implemented in some parts of Kampala and there is relaxity of their implementation. The findings also showed that the majority of building structures in Kampala do not conform to the city’s, building rules and regulations. The researcher also discovered that land use regulations on public land are more effective as opposed to land use regulations on privately held land. Further, the study results show that the most significant land tenure constraints to the implementation of land use regulations is that land largely held under private mailo which also includes the kibanja occupants therefore land owners erect buildings without compliance to the rules and regulations. The researcher therefore concluded that overall, implementation of land use regulations on land under the different tenure systems is not effective. Tenure insecurity and lack of enforcement of land use regulations are highly responsible for the poor quality of settlements in the City. The researcher made recommendations based on the findings of the study and these included; designing an effective and sound land registration and titling system. The researcher also proposes areas for further research.