By The Insight Post
Mukono Municipality is drop-dead gorgeous, heard and imagined by people staying especially in the up-country communities for its proximity with Kampala Capital City Authority.
However, whoever visits it wrinkle their nose out of surprise, on whichever route used traffic jams gives you an amiable welcome. It is a worse experience for travelers from Kampala than those from the Eastern route using Kampala-Jinja Highway.
Heavy traffic flow aside, accidents especially those caused by motorcyclists against pedestrians at the road sidewalk within the central business area are inevitable due to lack of business zones.
Street vendors work day and night on top of passenger, cargo and private vehicles parking in unauthorized places. Behind the corridors of the main buildings are heaps of decomposing garbage.
Every alternative route connecting to Kampala-Jinja Highway is full of potholes similar to underground caves. Such roads generate dust into people’s businesses during dry spells and rainy season making movement impossible.
The community is now far from entitlement of services, a situation generating questions of whether the technical and elected officials are under control of the municipality or it is out of their sight.
The Insight Post focusing its lenses at municipal administration established that the technical wing is never monitored while executing its duties.
The Municipal Mayor, Elisa Mukasa Nkoyoyo since his election into the office, could spend much of his useful time drinking like a fish.
At the time of jumping out of the lake, Nkoyoyo got bedridden living behind his deputy, George William Makumbi who finds it hard to read and interpret documents.
World over, elected leaders are entrusted with making decisions that directly affect the daily lives of residents, families, local business owners and many others in the local community.
Their absence at Mukono Municipality opened a room to the technical wing carte blanche implementation of services at the same time each department monitor and supervise itself.
It is not surprising that the town clerk, Godfrey Kisekka on January 1, last year, on behalf of the municipality contracted De Waste to manage garbage in Goma division and Bins Kampala limited in the Central Division as well as Namakya enterprises limited to manage its landfill at Katikoro but exempted them from filing profit returns.
Until now the municipality failed to come up with a clear and fixed charging policy for residents, but it instead stopped other local private collectors from operating in the area.
The current contractor, specifically Bins, requires residents to pay between Shillings 18, 000 to 40, 000 on a monthly basis for collecting garbage from their homes.
The municipality also contracted Joseneous investment limited to manage the street but its contract expired without a single remittance detail captured.
According to the contract, a copy of which this website has seen, the contractor was required to deposit Shillings 2million monthly to Mukono Central Division general fund account.
Less funds make it to the Division general fund accounts for both Goma and the Central Division. The Central Division Chief Finance Officer, Racheal Birimumaaso explained during the budget conference that several businesses are yet to recover from covid-19 effects.
But also, they are affected by the e-revenue system breakdown due to continuous upgrades making it time consuming and unreliable, besides receiving interference from politicians and house technical staff who stop business people from fulfilling their duties.
Residents Plight
Mukono central business community appeal for clearance of grown-up bushes at the stalled site of the Municipality headquarters claiming that it has become a serious hub for snakes crossing into their shops.
In June 2021, Mukono Municipality demolished one of its biggest old buildings to create space for the construction of the new administrative building though the project failed to progress from the foundation.
The stalled building was designed to accommodate various offices at a cost five billion Shillings and the contract was awarded to Rosanah Constructions Limited.
The construction process was expected to be done under phases and final completion expected in a period of five years with facilitation from local revenue.
Construction of an administrative block at the Central Division also stalled on foundation after the then Principal Assistant Town Clerk, Ismah Ssemyalo disappeared with accountability details concerning the project.
The construction works had started in July 2021, and it was expected to be complete in a period of five years at a cost of Shillings 1.8 billion, funded on a quarterly basis through locally collected revenue. The contract was awarded to Joff Constructions limited.
There is also a loud cry among residents for sealing of roads rather than only concentrating on earth works.
As the Municipal Town Clerk Godfrey Kisekka claims lack of funds to facilitate the construction works and maintenance of the place under sorry state, his deputy, Majerani Luboyera contends that it is mismanagement.
Does the Municipality Face Mismanagement of Funds
In the recent Municipal council session, a committee of seven people was formed to probe the town clerk, Godfrey Kisekka and his deputy, Luboyera Majerani over unpaid hotel bills.
The committee was passed following a complaint by the Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament, Betty Nambooze who revealed before the council that the town clerk and his juniors had sought for services from Alvers Hotel, located along Katosi road and left the place without settling bills.
Nambooze told the council that the hotel presented to her evidence of bills equivalent to Shillings 60 million indicating expenditures on alcohol and food consumed by over thirty people but on the same invoices it was indicated that the team was attending a council committee sitting yet none of the municipal committee exceeded ten people.
According to her findings, the municipal officials take advantage of their positions to feast in luxurious hotels and then task the management to demand money from the municipality finance department.
Vincent Lubwama, one of the vibrant councillors at the municipality proposed formation of a special committee to investigate the technical staff in regards to the said invoices as well as failure by the technical team to pay the said bills.
In a stakeholders meeting at Collin Hotel chaired by the Deputy Residents District Commissioner in Charge of Mukono Municipality, Rhodha Kagaaga, participants suggested immediate investigation of the procedures under which contracts at Mukono Municipality are awarded.
END.
English 