Enforcing New Property Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Ugandan Constitution and the 1998 Land Act

Abstract:     
Many Sub-Saharan African countries are embarking on major changes in their property rights law with the goal of achieving more vigorous economic growth and alleviating poverty. Uganda has been at the forefront of these changes in property rights in land with Constitutional change and a new land law. The Ugandan land law encapsulates recent efforts to formalize the informal property rights that exist. This article uses paired case studies to examine the implementation and enforcement of the 1998 Land Act in Uganda. There have been three major impediments to the implementation of the Land Act: lack of capacity, corruption and customary law. While the new land law in Uganda has been necessary to achieve a change in property rights, it has faced obstacles in its implementation that undermine the achievement of secure private rights to land.

Keywords: Property Rights, Land, Law, Africa, Uganda

JEL Classification: Q15, Q24, K11, O17, N57, O55

Accepted Paper Series