September 15, 2025 (KOTIDO, Uganda ): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in collaboration with the Uganda Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, is in Kotido District from September 15-19, 2025 to present the first draft Land Use and Physical Development Plans for Kacheri Sub County and Kacheri Town Council. This activity is part of IGAD’s Land Governance Programme, supported by the Embassy of Sweden in Addis Ababa, which is promoting sustainable land management, gender equality, and climate resilience across the Karamoja cluster, while engaging communities and local institutions in conflict sensitive and gender responsive land use planning.
The draft plans are building on extensive groundwork, including stakeholders consultations at national and local levels, field data collection, and validation of the Existing Situation Analysis (ESA), which incorporated inputs from local communities, district officials, and technical experts. The presentation of the drafts will ensure that the findings reflect the realities and aspirations of the communities, providing a strong foundation for sustainable land management.
The draft plans will be presented alongside capacity-building sessions for Land Management Institutions, Climate Change Committees, and Grievance Redress Committees. The objective is to train the various land management Institutions (LMIs) and Climate Change Committees about their obligations as provided for by the policy and legal framework in the context of land use planning and implementation for Kacheri Sub County and Kacheri Twon Council. A team of 12 national experts from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development; the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development; and the Ministry of Water and Environment, including physical planners, sociologists, and environmental specialists, will be guiding the process.
The programme is engaging 456 local participants across district, sub-county, town council, parish, and ward levels.
The training is focusing on land governance, physical planning, gender and climate change, and grievance handling, equipping institutions to manage land use planning and implementation effectively. Feedback from these sessions is informing the prioritization of interventions, while the draft plans will be deposited for a 90-day public inspection period, allowing further community review.
This initiative demonstrates IGAD’s commitment to participatory and inclusive land governance, combining technical expertise with community engagement to deliver sustainable, gender-responsive land use plans for Kotido and the wider Karamoja region.
