RDC FAULTS ARUA OVER SHS1BN INVESTMENT ON UNTITLED LAND

Arua district RDC Gorre Goffin addressing the district leaders on Thursday. Photo by Morish Dramadri

By Morish Dramadri

Arua City

Arua Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Gorre Goffin has criticized the district’s political and technical leadership for investing Shs1 billion released by the Ministry of Local Government to relocate the district headquarters onto land that is not fully titled, despite persistent land conflicts in the district.

The government in September 2024 released the Shs1 billion as start-up funding to facilitate the relocation of Arua District headquarters from Arua City to Odumi in Vurra Town Council, where construction of the new administrative offices has already begun.

However, district records indicate that while the District Executive Committee approved 45 acres for the project on March 9, 2021, only 24 acres have so far been titled, leaving nearly half of the proposed site without formal ownership documentation.

Speaking during the handover and takeover ceremony of the outgoing and incoming Chief Administrative Officers on Thursday, Goffin questioned how such a major government investment could proceed before securing legal ownership of the entire project land.

“How can you invest Shs1 billion of government money on land without a title? Who authorized it? How did the Contracts Committee approve construction of a government facility on untitled land? This has never happened in Uganda. How did this happen?” Goffin asked.

The RDC’s concerns come amid recurring land disputes in Arua District, where conflicts over ownership have increasingly resulted in violence, including killings linked to land wrangles. The district has also recorded growing cases of encroachment on government and institutional land, raising concerns over the protection of public assets.

Goffin directed the newly appointed Arua District Chief Administrative Officer to work closely with the District Committee on Lands and Natural Resources to prioritize the registration of all government and institutional land, while accelerating the resolution of long-standing land disputes.

He said securing land titles is essential for protecting public investments and restoring public confidence in land administration.

“The Natural Resources Department must take keen interest in resolving these land conflicts. The process of acquiring land titles should be made easier for the people. The fact that society reached a point of killing its own Acting District Health Officer over a land dispute shows people have lost trust in the leadership,” Goffin said.

The relocation of Arua District headquarters is part of the government’s administrative transition following the creation of Arua City. The new headquarters are expected to improve service delivery by providing the district with a permanent administrative base outside the city boundaries. However, concerns over land ownership could delay the project unless the outstanding titling process is completed.