Amolatar I With the assistance of development partners, the government issued certificates of customary land ownership to 1,900 landowners in Amolatar district.
On Tuesday, Amolatar’s Resident District Commissioner, Francis Okello Odoki Rwotlonyo, presented 300 certificates to the beneficiaries.
The RDC presented the certificates on behalf of Judith Nabakooba, Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development.
Odoki urged the beneficiaries to keep their land certificates, stating that “no one can now take lands documented in your name.”
“I want to ask you to use your title to help you secure finances so that you do not keep them under the pillow, but use it to bring development in your families,” RDC Rwotlonyo advised.
Meanwhile, Naume Kabanda, the acting director of land management at the Ministry of Land, advised those who have received their certificates to use them to help secure their land rights.
She also asked the recipients to use the certificates to alleviate poverty through commercial farming, with the assistance of commercial banks.
Also read: Amolatar locals finally give land to Lira University for college of agriculture
“Use the certificate to get a loan for farming that will help you fight poverty, and do not just keep it in the house unused,” Kabanda stressed.
“I want to tell you that the certificate is wealth creation within your hand and you will have to use it to open doors for wealth,” she added.
Women were involved in the project, she said, and hopes that the youth will also join to avoid land confusion.
Geoffrey Ocen Kiring, Amolatar’s LC5 chairperson, praised GFA and GIZ for implementing the project, which benefited 1,900 people in Agwingiri and Muntu sub-counties.
He also asked GFA and GIZ to consider all 16 sub-counties if funding allowed.
The district chairperson asked the beneficiaries to keep their certificates safe because no one else could ever have the title to the same land.
“Stay away from people who offer loans in exchange for land titles. “Do not use the certificate on the loan because they can easily take your land that way,” he warned.
Okot Moses Junior Bitek, Kyoga County Member of Parliament, has asked the people of Amolatar to register for the certificates.
The MP stated that there is mineral in the area, and that having certificates or land titles will protect their land from grabbers.
He stated that land grabbers will enter the district with the intention of purchasing land.