The Masaka City Roads Committee has unanimously resolved to formally petition the Inspector General of Government-IGG to investigate the two officials for alleged abuse of offices and corruption.
The committee chaired by the Kimanya-Kabonera Division Member of Parliament Abed Bwanika learnt that the city has under unclear circumstances lost a lot of its properties that including land in green spaces and road reserves.
Florence Namayaja and Godfrey Bamanyisa, the Masaka City Mayor and Town Clerk respectively, instructed police and other law enforcement teams to crackdown all defiant drivers and force them back to their gazetted areas of operations.
Augustine Turibalungi, the City Principal Works Engineer says they have now opted to remodel the worn-out shopping lanes, pedestrian pathways and street parking lanes with pavers instead of the traditional asphalt material.
Frank Tumwebaze, the Chairperson on Masaka Market Vendors Cooperative says that the failure by the contractors to complete and hand over the market has frustrated vendors, who are tired of operating in open space.
Moses Muliisa, the general secretary of the association has petitioned the city council authorities demanding that they take interest and set a standard price for milk resale for purposes of protecting the traders from highly exploitative distributors, whom they also accuse of compromising the quality of milk on the market.
These children some young as six years of age are now engaged in selling of vegetables, fruits, and other foodstuffs in markets, on streets, while others are also involving themselves in hawking; where they carry their merchandise to their targeted customers in different places including homes.
The new local urban council is challenged with a lack of enough office space for both the political leadership and technical departments. The city is currently operating from the premises previously occupied by the former Masaka Municipal Council, some of which are appalling after spending years without repairs.
The draft amendments according to Justinian Nuwagaba, the Commissioner for Urban Administration in the Ministry of local government are necessitated by the need to have customized provisions that can enable effective management of the new urban local governments as well as drawing a clear distinction between them and the districts.
The drug shop operators says that several local government authorities such as sub county and division councils have already issued assessment forms for the taxes they have to pay to the councils as trading license which they says that its unfair since they already paid money to NDA to secure their operational licenses.
During her visit to the market in Friday, the Local Government State Minister, Jenifer Namuyangu asked the contractors to use the extra two more months to complete the market so that the vendors can use it.
Martin Kigozi, the Senior Physical Planer Masaka City, says that the decision is aimed at ensuring a properly planned town with green spaces to avoid congestion. He says that they intend to have a city with enough trees and grass to provide a healthy environment.
Pauline Nabadda, the Masaka City Environment Officer reveals that the decision to privatize garbage management in the town was reached upon following the chronic failure by the local government to effectively manage the solid waste materials in the area.
Frank Takaya, a businessman in Masaka town has denied the contractor access through his plot of land located adjacent to the road under construction, arguing that he was not compensated for his property yet he has a title over it.
Janet Nassolo, a resident of Kibisi parish told Uganda Radio Network that many people took this year’s election as a fashion and failed to evaluate the candidates for the various leadership positions.
Jerome Olowo Stowell, the board architect, says the building committee will re-inspect the building after construction for issuance of an occupancy permit, adding that no building will be allowed to be occupied without an occupational permit.
Last month, the Masaka Municipal City Clerk John Bahengana issued a ten-day ultimatum to taxi drivers in the area to stop operating from gazetted stages and parks, which was creating confusion in the town.
