The Government of Uganda has given local authorities two weeks to submit detailed inventories of all Government-owned land within their jurisdictions as part of a nationwide effort to identify, document and protect public land.

The directive was issued by the Minister of State for Lands, Hon. Harriet Ntabazi, during a Regional Stakeholders' Workshop on the Comprehensive Government Land Inventory held at Hoima Resort Hotel in the Bunyoro Sub-Region on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Ntabazi called on Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), Town Clerks, District Land Officers, Physical Planners and Sub-County Chiefs to take immediate responsibility for the exercise, beginning with the nomination of focal persons to coordinate the collection and submission of land records.

She also directed local government officials to provide full cooperation to field verification teams expected to visit their respective districts to establish the location, occupancy, ownership and legal status of Government land.

The Minister emphasised that Government cannot effectively manage, protect or plan for land whose location and ownership details are not properly documented.

"When I assumed office as Minister, the first question I asked was: Where is Government land? Where is the inventory of the land that I am supposed to superintend?" Ntabazi said, highlighting the absence of a comprehensive and authoritative record of Government land holdings.

She explained that establishing a reliable inventory is essential for protecting public assets and supporting Government planning, particularly for infrastructure such as schools, health centres, roads and forests.

The initiative is being spearheaded by the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. It seeks to establish a comprehensive national record showing the extent of Government land, its location, occupancy, legal status and level of security.

The exercise is also intended to address weaknesses in public land administration and strengthen accountability among institutions responsible for managing Government property.

According to the Ministry of Lands, the Uganda Land Commission has responsibilities that include maintaining a central inventory of Government land, surveying and titling public property, maintaining boundaries and protecting Government land against unauthorised occupation and fraudulent transactions.

The Minister commended the Uganda Land Commission and the Ministry for spearheading the initiative, stressing that local governments are indispensable to its success because they are closer to the communities and land resources within their jurisdictions.

The exercise will bring together national and local government institutions, technical officers and other stakeholders to identify, reclaim, document, register and protect Government land.

The information gathered is expected to strengthen public asset management, improve accountability and enable Government to make better-informed decisions about land allocation and development priorities.

Ntabazi subsequently declared the regional stakeholders' workshop officially open, urging all participating institutions to work together to ensure that public land is properly documented and safeguarded for present and future generations.

The Bunyoro engagement forms part of the wider Government effort to establish a comprehensive and reliable national inventory of public land across Uganda.