IMPUNITY! Report pins Mbarara City officials on terrorizing residents over building inspection fees

Mbarara City North Division officials will go down in history of Uganda as one those who hold hostage its own people for ‘ransom’.

According to a report seen by this publication the officials in the name of collecting building inspection fees, have been terrorizing citizens’ homes.

According to the district financial report presented by members of the Finance Committee to the full Council held last week at Las Vegas Hotel, it has been discovered that there is a section of technical staff members working with Mbarara City North Division who go demanding money menacingly from the residents as building inspection fees.

It has been reported that among these Technical staff who are mostly suspected as town agents allegedly extort money from the owners of the building sites who are charged huge sums of money and these monies go into individual pockets and don’t go to the division treasury.

Victims have also reported that they are harassed and forced to pay money to some staff.

The same committee has also learnt with great sadness that the enforcement team moves with handcuffs and arrests those who don’t comply and put into incarceration until they pay.

About three Officials who are identified as Town Agents of Mbarara City North Division have been cited in this racket. Among these include Posi, Ssesa and among others.

There are a number of cases related to fraud/ extortion that have been registered since this financial year began.

Among these include one of the sites in Ekikade- Nyakinengo ward at Ismael’s site where he was illegally charged sh400,000 and was directly paid to the Town Agent of Nyakinengo Ward.

It was also discovered that sh200.000 was paid to a town Agent called Posi after a long term negotiation from sh500.000 until they agreed with the owner of a two bedroom commercial building to pay that sum of sh200.000.

A certain woman from Kakiika with a 3-room moderate residential house was extorted and robbed about sh1,600,000 by two town agents one from Mbarara City North Division and another one from Mbarara City South Division and no portion of this amount was received by the Division treasury.

This didn’t stop from that, there is another case reported by one Edwin Nuwagaba from Butagatsi Kakiika ward who claims that he was extorted about sh400.000. He was again asked about sh1000.000, and when they failed to reach a compromise, the site was violently stopped and workers handcuffed and were taken to court and sentenced.

According to the report that was submitted by the Finance Committee Chairperson Johnbosco Magembe, it was revealed that the budget performance report for previous Quarters the building Inspection fees has been one of the top performing revenue sources with high potential.

But it’s unfortunate that this time it has portrayed a very poor performance of 9% compared to previous FY 2022/2023 Quarter one with 36% something they attributed to corruption.

During the Council meeting, the house resolved that tough penalties be packaged to staff and political leaders who extort money, violently harass and oppress people instead of helping them to do the right thing.

The proposed penalties include refunding the amount of money extorted, and deny them from getting their allowances and face other disciplinary proceedings.

It was also resolved that Ward agents must submit periodic construction reports.

Silver Mugisha, the Speaker Mbarara City North vowed tough action. DEAR READER, DO YOU HAVE A HOT STORY? CALL/TEXT/WHATSAPP 0777959024 OR EMAIL: redpeppertips@gmail.com WITH AS MUCH EVIDENCE AS POSSIBLE.
SOURCE PROTECTION/CONFIDENTIALITY IS OUR NO.1 PRIORITY.