According to municipal officials, many of these buildings have been constructed without the necessary technical oversight from Town Engineers. Some structures are being built directly on sanitary lanes and road reserves, complicating efforts to expand essential services such as sewage systems, piped water, and electricity poles.
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Some of the buildings on Uringi road in nebbi municipality town,authority say 80 percent of the buildings in town are illegally constructed without plans .Photo by Patrick Okaba (2)
Authorities in Nebbi Municipality have raised alarm over the rising number of illegal buildings being erected by developers, with more than 80 percent of the permanent structures in the town reportedly constructed without approved plans. This leaves only 20 percent of the structures in compliance with the approved guidelines.
According to municipal officials, many of these buildings have been constructed without the necessary technical oversight from Town Engineers. Some structures are being built directly on sanitary lanes and road reserves, complicating efforts to expand essential services such as sewage systems, piped water, and electricity poles.
Town Engineer Eng. Stephen Olore highlighted the challenges posed by these illegal structures. “Many buildings are encroaching on public access roads, and when the council attempts to extend services along road reserves, the owners demand compensation, which complicates the council’s work,” Olore explained. He also pointed out that some buildings constructed when Nebbi was still a Town Council still lack approved plans, further hindering the town's development.
One local developer, Beatrice Akumu from Okeyo Cell in Abindu Division, Nebbi, attributed the widespread disregard for building plans to the high costs and long approval times involved. "The process of getting approval for building plans is expensive and time-consuming, which is why many developers choose to bypass it,” Akumu said. She urged the municipal technical staff to conduct more routine sensitization programs to educate the local community about the importance of obtaining building plans and the associated costs, noting that many developers are unaware of the proper procedures.
“Council should share their urban development plans and open up roads to prevent further encroachment and illegal construction by developers,” Akumu added. Meanwhile, Flavia Oyeny, the Physical Planner for Nebbi Municipality, stressed that developers should seek technical advice from both the Physical Planning and Engineering departments regarding the costs involved in obtaining building plan approvals and land inspections before starting construction.
“The charges for plan approval depend on the square footage of the construction, and the cost is automatically calculated by the system. Developers are expected to pay the fees directly at the bank,” Oyeny explained. She encouraged developers to seek assistance if they encounter challenges that could delay their projects, including issues related to costs and the approval process.
Richard Oyirwoth, Chairman of the Nebbi Business Community, acknowledged that poverty and ignorance in the community have contributed to the trend of building without following legal procedures. “When I was building my house, I spent UGX 720,000 to process my building documents with the municipal council, and I urge the council to increase media-based sensitization on the legal processes involved in acquiring construction documents,” Oyirwoth said.
