eoffrey Etedu, the Assistant Commissioner and National Coordinator for Markets in the Ministry of Local Government explains that the new Act intends to streamline the management of public markets and prevent the exploitation of vendors in privately owned facilities.
Enforcement teams from the two government agencies jointly conducted impromptu operations this week clamping down on illegal fuel dealers who included single-pump fuel retailers, those selling adulterated fuel, and stations with compromised fuel pumps that cheat clients.
Mathias Ddumba, the Chairperson Bulayi Ward in Nyendo-Mukungwe division, who is also a member of the Parish Development Committee, indicates that the commercial banks are charging each of the beneficiaries between 35,000 to 50,000 shillings as accounts management fees, which he says is exorbitant.
However, Florence Namayanja the Masaka City Mayor expressed disappointment that the process to allocate space in the market is being frustrated by some local political fanatics for their selfish interests.
The city council leadership had planned to relocate its offices to the current district headquarters at Kitabiro cell, Nyendo-Mukungwe division, in line with the guidance by the Attorney General instructing the leadership of mother districts whose headquarters had been swallowed in the boundaries of the newly created cities, to find alternative sites for their administrative offices.
According to Mulindwa, at least five solar streetlights have been vandalized within one month, and efforts to arrest the culprits have not yielded positive results. The vandalized lights are in Bulayi and Kitenga cells in the Nyendo-Mukungwe division and Kitanga cell in the Kimanya-Kabonera division.
According to the assets inventory by the Acting City Principal Treasurer Harriet Nakafeero, at least 35 known public properties that include pieces of land and buildings cannot have their certificates of ownership traced in the city storage system. They include the Mayor’s Chambers, Public Health and Education department offices, and Nyendo public market,
The 18.05 billion Shillings modern market was constructed under the second phase of the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Program-MATIP II, which was funded by a loan from the African Development Bank-ADB. The three-storied market has 761 stalls and 89 lockups
Josephine Nassanga, the Vice Chairperson of Kigo cell in Kibisi Ward says that the decision followed a surge in thefts reported in the area. She explains that they register at least five incidents of house break-ins on weekly basis, forcing them to devise means that can help to reverse the trend.
According to the Mining and Mineral Act 2021, the government took over the rights of ownership of all high and low-value minerals that are being exploited for commercial purposes.
The speaker had called the council session to discuss quarterly reports by the different committees as well as to consider resolutions of the executive committee on the intervention towards preventing the spread of the Ebola virus in the area.
Florence Namayanja, the Masaka City Mayor says that the low staffing levels are affecting key departments that include; Physical Planning and Housing, Community Development, Agriculture and Production, Natural Resources and Environment, and Works and Engineering
According to records, the computerized system is yet to effectively bridge the revenue leakages in Masaka city, hence failing to meet its local revenue collection targets.
According to Kalungi, the current district headquarters, which sits on one of the fairly elevated sites in the center of Masaka city was the enclave of the former regional colonial administrators, hence a representation of the origin of political leadership for the entire greater Masaka sub-region now comprised of ten districts.
The communities living along the road of the ongoing project works are complaining about the conduct of the contractors whom they accuse of violations and running down their businesses.
Masaka District Chairperson Andrew Lukyamuzi Batemyetto says that the headquarters located at Kitabiro in Masaka city will be sold to enable the district secure the money required to construct new headquarters.
Vincent Kasumba, the President of Masaka City Development Forum, a stakeholder engagement platform that is charged with overseeing the implementation of the projects, says the city is finding it hard to carry out maintenance works on some of the earlier completed infrastructure projects.
