EASTERN PROVINCE

KAYONZA — The Mayor of Kayonza District, Damas Muhororo has said that the land redistribution exercise in the district is scheduled to be concluded by August this year.

"We are in the final phase of redistributing land. But there are some land parcels that have  not been redistributed and there are some people who have not yet got land. But we hope that the screening will be completed in two months’ time,” the Mayor told The New Times in an interview on Monday.

"Though screening takes time; I think we will have finished by that time [August]. Thereafter  we will commence  with sensitisation about development programmes,”he added.

Muhororo added that during the land redistribution exercise the local authorities will use the programme to equally sensitise residents on development issues like modern livestock farming.

Although many formerly landless residents have acquired plots, he noted that the district is overwhelmed by the number of residents who need land.

The land redistribution programme saw residents with huge  chunks of land being requested to surrender various parcels of land to those who were mostly landless.

Some landlords who owned about 200 hectares were left with 25 hectares, while others retained on average 10 hectares. The beneficiaries were selected with the help of residents.

"The key pointers  of the redistribution programme was based on  the typology  of work by both the concerned parties. For example poor people or those people carrying out various farm activities were offered differing forms of allocations . The screening thus helped to identify genuine landless people. But the land is still scarce, the reason we encourage people to engage in non-farm activities,” he said.  

On challenges faced, the mayor said it was difficult  for land owners  formerly owning big chunks of land to embrace the redistribution programme.

"They were used to owning big chunks of land, making adjustments to fit in the new small land allocated to them takes time,” he said.

Yohana Gakwaya, one of the beneficiaries of land redistribution says previously he used to work on other people’s farms to feed his family. But ever since he acquired 10 hectares, he tends on a family garden and he plans to start modern farming.

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