The Physical Planners says they spend between 200,000 and 500,000 to hire private surveyors to locate coordinates for government land to get titles which is a requirement by the Zonal physical planning office.
Physical
Planners and Land Management officers in Districts of Ankole sub region have
decried the lack of equipment to use in surveying and locating coordinates for
titling government land.
They say
this has complicated the protection of government land from theft and
encroachment.
They say on
top of lacking equipment they are faced with other challenges that include lack
of transport, little budget allocations.
Some of the
equipment used include Global Satelite machine (GSI), Global Position equipment
(GPS) Real kinetic Machine (RTK).
Jonah
Tumuhimbise the Mbarara Zonal Senior Physical Planner - Ministry of lands says the main challenge faced by all physical planners and land management
officers in greater Mbarara districts is a lack of equipment.
She says
this equipment helps locate coordinates before approving a plan and titling of
land noting that some reports brought in by physical planners are in wetlands.
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Tumuhimbise
says this has affected the proper planning of urban districts and increased the
encroachment on wetlands found in urban centres.
Babrah
Komujuni Senior Land Management Officer Sheema district says most government
land is encroached on because they lack the equipment to survey and mark the
boundaries of these lands.
She says
they lack equipment like Computers, Global Position equipment (GPS) and Real Kinetic Machines (RTK).
Komujuni
says they spend a lot of money hiring private surveyors who are expensive
compared to the budget allocations to the natural resources department.
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Fionah
Ndimbirwe the District Physical Planner Sheema says all Physical planning
districts face the same challenge of lack of transport to coordinate fieldwork
at sub-counties.
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Emmanuel
Kaganzi, the Commissioner Physical Planning Ministry of Urban Development says
since the decentralization of services, districts should prioritize equipping
their offices noting that the machines don’t cost more than 2 million
shillings.
He says
Physical planners and land Management officers should not blame the lack of
equipment for the theft of government lands but promised the ministry will
equip them.
