Mukono Municipality’s Structural Engineer and the Physical Planner are on the spot for authorising illegal constructions in the area.
The officials under spotlight are Engineer Haruna Ssebaduka and Hilary Murungi respectively.
The two authorise the construction of non-storeyed buildings in the area on top of the failure to implement the demolition of illegal structures established without approved plans.
The municipal council banned the construction of non-storeyed structures within Goma and the Central Division before ordering the technical team to stop approving building plans unless the developer had given assurance of erecting storey structures.
The council also instructed landlords to paint old buildings and demolish condemned buildings or the municipality forcefully razes them down.
However, landlords resorted to facelift remodeling without changing the layout. Others have instead resorted to constructing single-storeyed commercial houses within the central business area.
One of the current sites under construction is located along the Kampala-Jinja highway opposite the Church of Uganda hospital. This website has yet to confirm the allegations that it belongs to the minister residing in the area.
The building was marked by the council as one of the oldest. It was constructed using mud and leads several years ago.
After it was condemned, the owner was expected to change its layout but instead fenced off the place and embarked on constructing a permanent single-storeyed building.
Both the planner and the engineer visited the site and okayed the construction to continue.
Several other illegal constructions have taken place within the municipality. A case in point is the new structures along the district lane, a few metres from the municipal headquarters.
Similar illegalities are also happening in the Goma division. Mark Ssebuuma, a resident at Mulago Cell says besides the buildings putting people’s lives at stake, they are also contributing to the poor outlook of the community.
“As a resident in Mukono, I would wish to see my community progressing into a modern and beautiful city, but now authorities are instead focused on bribes to approve illegalities than supporting development.”
Another resident, Derrick Mukiibi of Seeta town says illegal construction creates congestion and slums.
He wants the State House Anti-corruption Unit to investigate and establish how such buildings get approval. He does not rule out corruption tendencies.
“I doubt that the planner understands the community he is supposed to plan for, nor the engineer. They are ever in office assenting to illegalities and eventually mess up our communities.” Mukiibi says.
This website has established that municipal officials ask landlords for a fee required for building plans and an additional fee which is un-receipted to approve plans with illegalities.
Shillings between 1.5 to 5 million are charged from people depending on their locations. Money is mostly corrected through the municipal enforcement officers.
All the implicated officials declined to speak about the ongoing works on condemned buildings and failure to demolish buildings established without approved plans referring us to the town clerk who has not been in office for days.
The deputy Mayor William Makumbi says the council will constitute a technical committee to investigate the irregularities and take appropriate measures.
He says worst, traders operating in the condemned buildings defy advice to vacate them.
Such irregularities are happening at a time when the government is trying to transform the infrastructural outlook of Mukono Municipality.
The arrangement is under the new shs2.1trillion Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme (GKMA-UDP) financed by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group.
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