NEW TWIST! Fight over Mbarara district assets pits ACODE boss against Mayor Kakyebezi, LC5 boss Tabaro

Amos Tayebwa

Mbarara

As conflict for who should take control of assets/ properties at Kamukuzi hill escalates, the Executive Director and Secretary to Board of Trustees of ACODE, Dr. Arthur Bainomugisha has condemned the fight between Mbarara city leadership and Mbarara district leadership that it has affected development among these two areas.

Since Mbarara was elevated to a city status, they have since been claiming the ownership of properties at Kamukuzi hill where the Mbarara district has its offices much as they are shifting to Bwizibwera. Some of the administrative offices for Mbarara district have so far shifted to Bwizibwera where the district headquarters will be situated.

However, there is too much conflict existing between the top leaders of these two local governments fighting for sharing of assets or properties where the district have been residing and where they have been generating revenue from. Apparently, the City Council led by Mayor Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi claims that all the properties which are immovable like Land, buildings are supposed to be controlled by the City Council because they belong to the city territory. They also insist to shift from their current White House offices to Kamukuzi to occupy the offices where the district has been operating from.

District LC5 Chairman Didas Tabaro is spitting fire and has threatened to finish any official from Mbarara city attempting to claim ownership of district properties. He says they have not even got funds from the Government so that they can construct their headquarters in Bwizibwera. He insists that they cannot leave their assets at Kamukuzi in the hands of the City Council because some City Council officials failed to protect their own assets and sold them off out of corruption.

Tabaro says that all the properties at Kamukuzi hill belong to Mbarara district that even if they shift to Bwizibwera those properties must remain in the control of Mbarara district not the City. He avers that Mbarara City has its own properties and the district has not claimed them.

From that background, Dr. Bainomugisha, the Executive Director ACODE challenged the two parties to go into mutual memorandum of understanding and mediation about the sharing of Kamukuzi properties and leave conflict aside.

While addressing leaders and stakeholders for Mbarara City during the launch of Mbarara City Five years plan that was held at Asamar Hotel in Ruti Mbarara recently, Dr. Bainomugisha condemned the conflict between the two parties over property ownership which he said that it is something that has crippled development in these areas. He said that Kakyebezi and Tabaro should think about one government. That Mbarara City and Mbarara district is one government they should harmonise and look at working for the people.

“I want to tell you that your conflict between Mbarara City and Mbarara district has killed the development. I am from Bwizibwera Mbarara District but apparently there are no any development projects undergoing in our area because of useless conflict. So you can resolve this and we move on. You are actually not supposed to be fighting or competing among yourselves because Mbarara District is a hinterland of Mbarara City,” said Dr. Bainomugisha.

He added: “I studied how two mediate people and I have got the experience in that, once given permission from the minister of Local government I am going to intervene and I will ensure that this matter is resolved. I will put Tabaro and Kakyebezi on the same page so that we end this war of properties.”

In the same meeting, City Mayor Kakyebezi pleaded to the Minister Raphael Magyezi of local government who was the Chief Guest to allow them as City Council to occupy the properties of Kamukuzi especially the administration blocks.

According to Magyezi, he has always engaged the two leaders of the two Local Governments including Mayor Kakyebezi and LC5 Chairman Tabaro and they all agreed to ceasefire on radios. But it seems there is still a problem.

He said that he has agreed with the Attorney General that they are going to come to Mbarara as a team and they sit with the Executive of the Mbarara City together with the Executive of Mbarara district and they go through all the assets which are in dispute between the two parties.

“We shall visit and verify all the assets which the district owns in the city, we go through one by one and we shall agree who should take which or what. It is not a case that the District produced the City. We are going to do this very quickly as early as between July and August, and I have committed myself to those ten Cities to make sure that this matter is resolved and we come out with an MOU between the Cities and the Districts about asset sharing. If we fail to agree, the government will always come in to prevail and to guide,” said Magyezi.

Kamukuzi hill apparently has a number of assets that generate revenue which include buildings that are rented by the district to Uganda Management Institute, MUBS; Nganwa Hostel rented by Generation Suits; Land that is hired by King of Kings Church; AMPROC Land; Kakyeka Stadium; Omugabe Palace, and many others. Other assets include District Administration blocks, District Staff quarters, and others. This originated on the issue of how Mbarara City is going to share these assets with the district.

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