Engineering, Art & Tech

Land Tenure System: A Challenge for Urban Development and Service Delivery in GKMA

Published

4 years ago

December 18, 2020

Mark Wamai

A group photo of participants at the Public Dialogue on the Land Tenure System and Urban Development in GKMA organised by the Department of Geomatics and Land Management, CEDAT, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda.

The opening remarks were given by Dr. Lydia Mazzi Kayondo who represented Professor Moses Musinguzi, the Dean School of the Built Environment, Makerere University. Dr. Mazzi Kayondo is the Chair, Department of Geomatics and Land Management, a senior lecturer and a Geographical Information System (GIS) specialist. She welcomed the participants and appreciated them for making it for the dialogue.

Dr. Kayondo also acknowledged her Department’s influence in training and churning out planners to both private and government organisations. 60% of the urban development in Kampala is informal and land tenure is one of the key factors affecting it. “Tenure of land defines the relationship of how rights are accessed and how to influence development,” she said.

Ms. Amanda Ngabirano, the Acting Chair National Physical Planning Board and also a Senior Lecturer at Makerere University was the guest speaker at the public dialogue. In her presentation she referred to the land tenure system as a ‘white elephant’. “We are stuck with it” she emphasized. She said that land tenure system is the reason why planners are not delivering. Ms Ngabirano also added that urban development is not only glamorous but is about balanced growth, that is to say equity and distribution of services and amenities.

Ms. Ngabirano emphasised the fact that land tenure is bigger than we can imagine. She called upon the participants to identify and open discussions with people on the land, identify areas with partnerships and opportunities and be able to work with them. Ms. Ngabirano said funding and compensation were also affecting development. She, however, pointed out that the land tenure system may not be the only thing affecting development. She challenged participants to identify all the factors and find solutions to them.

To further address the theme , the panel comprised of urban development experts, specialists and researchers such as Mrs. Rehema Nanvuma an urban planner currently working with the Buganda Land Board, Mr. Samuel Mabala, a representative from Cities Alliance and a senior urban development expert, Ms. Anitah Kusiima, a physical planner working with KCCA and Dr. Fredrick Omolo Okalebo, an urban planner and researcher at Makerere University shared their thoughts.

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Engineering, Art & Tech

CEDAT embarks on revolutionizing Teaching, Research, and Innovation to Meet Societal Needs

Published

2 weeks ago

April 17, 2025

Alex Isemaghendera

The College of engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) embarked on the process for reviewing the ways of teaching and learning, research and innovation in order to produce graduates that are well shaped to meet the needs of the society.A two-day strategy workshop was convened from 14^th to 15^th April 2025 at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe, bringing together academia and others stakeholders, under the Theme; ‘Advancing Education, Research, Innovation for a transformative Future in Engineering, Design, Art and technology’.

The engagement was aimed at advancing the institution’s leadership, management practices, and its core academic functions and discussed strategies for driving excellence and preparing graduates for the job market. It centered on three main objectives: promoting a better understanding of the roles of Academic Leaders and Administrative Heads in carrying out the University’s core functions, enhancing college management through effective customer care, communication, and documentation practices, and advancing teaching, research, and innovation to produce job-ready graduates.

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Engineering, Art & Tech

Industry Academia Exchange: Strengthening Collaboration for Skills Development and Innovation

Published

2 weeks ago

April 17, 2025

Alex Isemaghendera

Realizing a gap between the Academia and Industry, the School of Engineering hosted a workshop on 16^th, April 2025 aimed at strengthening the collaboration for Skills Development and Innovation to ensure that the engineering graduates have the relevant skills needed for the labor market and can contribute effectively to national development.

The workshop was officially opened by the Dean, School of Engineering Dr. Dorothy Okello who emphasized improving the relationship between the academia and industry by having continuous engagement and regularly inviting industry representatives to contribute to the curriculum. She proposed this engagement to be happening every two to three years, with a focus on regular discussions to enhance opportunities and align more closely with market needs aiming on collaboratively increasing productivity and improve the ultimate development for the involved parties.

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Engineering, Art & Tech

Navigating the Future, Through Academia and Industry Partnerships

Published

2 weeks ago

April 17, 2025

Alex Isemaghendera

The School of Engineering at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) has hosted a 2-day Expert Group workshop from 14^th-15^th April 2025 with the participation of the academia, and industry representatives

Dr. Roseline Akol, who kick started the workshop with the opening remarks acknowledged that Makerere university was not in the race alone and neither was it a sole trainer since other universities are also training in engineering and hence the need for collaboration. She also stated that there has to be a collaboration with industries because they have the ability to cause change through their research and development, feedback, industrial training and others. As a research led university, Dr. Roseline Akol said that Makerere wants to enhance knowledge generation, access and innovation for basic and applied research. “We want to go beyond innovation and maximize research by translating it into tangible works that is products and resources that can impact the community”, said Dr. Roseline Akol. She stated that most of the research conducted and the good reports written by the university students remains in shelves and was not being translated into a tangible products , and that this was the reason as to why Makerere University wanted to provide support to the researchers to attract funding from international sources through the project.

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