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.
The leadership of Masaka City council has rescinded its position
to take over the headquarters of the Masaka district Local Government for its administrative
offices.
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 the circular, such immovable
assets were supposed to be handed over to the City administration to support
their startup as the districts mobilized to get new properties. But Masaka District Chairperson Andrew Lukyamuzi Batemyetto mobilized
district councillors to block attempts by the Masaka City Planner to survey
the land for purposes of remodelling the current district headquarters for
eventual takeover.
He also threatened to vandalize any equipment taken on site and
harm personnel, should the city insist on taking over what he described as their
hard-earned properties without being compensated, a move which sparked off sharp misunderstandings between the two administrative units.
Masaka City Mayor Florence
Namayanja has now backtracked on the position saying they have
identified alternative land where they will construct the city
headquarters. Namayanja says that they have chosen to
first, stay away from destructive political fights within the district and begin
to construct new city headquarters.
She explains that they decided to reawaken the plans of the predecessor
leadership of the former Masaka Municipal Council mooting for the construction
of new administrative headquarters, for which they mobilized close to 2 billion
shillings in 2020.
Namayanja however adds that they are still looking up to the
current premises of Masaka district headquarters for other development purposes,
should the Ministry of Local Government resolve the apparent impasse by upholding
the guidance of the Attorney General.
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On the other hand, Namayanja says the City has also found it
necessary to covert part of the Golf Course land to re-establish the Mayor’s
Gardens which were sold off to a private developer by the former leaders of Masaka Municipal Council. Namayanja says that she intends to leave a legacy beautiful
city that accords respect to nature and the preservation of public green spaces.
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Nevertheless, Andrew Lukyamuz Batemyetto, the Masaka L.CV
Chairperson says they will hold onto all their assets and safeguard them from
any encroachment unless the district is compensated, to enable it to acquire new
properties.
