Lands Ministry Launches National Call Centre to address rampant Land Evictions

State Minister for Lands, Judith Nabakooba has launched the National Call Centre on Land issues, to help bring to an end, the rampant illegal land evictions in the country.

Speaking at the launch on Sunday, Nabakooba committed that during her term in this office, she will prioritize the issue of land evictions, which she says have made life so difficult for many Ugandans.

“Many families throughout the country are living under the fear of the un known. This is because of the constant threats to their homes and gardens. The other area of prioritization is streamlining all major services by utilizing new technology innovations. My office has received so many complaints about the difficulties people face while accessing the different services” Nabakooba noted.

She further noted that a lot of the transactions and services are disconnected making it very frustrating for many people, adding that streamlining the operations of the entire land sector is therefore a core priority as well. The call center has a Toll-Free Line that is now available for the public to call on urgent issues of land. The Toll-Free line is 0 800 100 004.

She explained that the call center is being operated by a team of well-trained personnel with good communication skills to engage with the public.

She urged the public to use this Toll Free line to; “Report cases of illegal Land evictions, Report incidents of corruption and bribery, follow up on reports of delayed land transactions and Bring to us Complaints and reports on poor service delivery and absenteeism” she noted.

The line should also be used to; follow up on Compensation and valuation issues, seek information on the Projects under the Ministry, report fraud and forgeries and those abating it and any other concerns in the land, Housing and Urban Development sector.

Nabakooba added that commissioning the call center is part of the long-term strategy to improve service delivery through the use of Information Technologies.

“Our call center agents are well connected to all the relevant law enforcement      agencies in the country. When an issue is reported through the Toll-Free line, our agents will be able to mobilise the relevant local authorities to respond immediately. The matter will also be recorded for constant follow up by the Ministry to ensure that it is being resolved” she said.

She therefore, called upon her staff at the Ministry and all Zonal offices throughout the country, to embrace the call center and ensure it serves its purpose.

The Minister added that apart from the call center, the Ministry is also working to set up a public online portal for the general public, to enable members of the public to access all relevant land related information.