Cash-strapped Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) has resorted to sweet-talking landlords into giving away their land before compensation to enable it expand some roads in the city.
The owners will be cleared later when the money for compensation is availed by government. According to Justus Akankwasa, the acting director for engineering and technical services in the authority, KCCA opted for dialogue with landowners because there is no compensation money, yet outstanding projects need to be completed as scheduled.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday, Akankwasa revealed that the strategy had, to some degree, succeeded and that they had managed to secure land from residents of Kulambiro, in Nakawa division, and those along John Babiiha avenue (former Acacia avenue).
He noted that under the Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project-Two (KIIDP-2) agreement, government is mandated to provide money ($8.7 million) to compensate landowners, which it has not fully done.
“All compensation for property in the project [KIIDP2] is financed by the government of Uganda but funds are not enough, and that delays the commencement of the project,” Akankwasa explained.
He added that they cannot force landowners to give away their land but, rather, persuade them to appreciate the benefits of upgrading their roads. Akankwasa revealed that since the residents of Kulambiro had made the securing of the right of way easy, the KCCA technical team would undertake the procurement exercise immediately.
With over eight roads and six channels to build under KIIDP2, the authority is faced with the challenge of securing compensation funds. For instance, works on Makerere Hill and Bakuli-Kasubi roads have been moving at a snail’s pace because property owners have not been cleared. Akankwasa added that also to blame are the multiple land title owners who all set different terms and make it harder to be compensated.
Despite the numerous challenges faced in implementing KIIDP2, Akankwasa observed that KCCA had managed to complete most works on some of the vital projects. He noted that construction works on all the seven road junctions shortlisted under the program were on track and would be completed soon. Some of the junctions under construction are on Kabira road, Kira road, Bwaise’s Mambule road, and Bakuli-Nakulabye-Kasubi road, among others.
“We have completed about 96 per cent of the works at Fairway junction. This includes all road construction and road marking, installation of signs and traffic control signals,” he said.
KIIDP-Two is funded by the World Bank and is aimed at improving both the road and drainage systems in all the five divisions of Kampala. The bank provided $175 million for the project that is set to end in December 2019.
Under the project, a number of channels will be upgraded to conform with the recently-approved Kampala Drainage Masterplan. KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi admitted recently that budget cuts had interfered with their plans to undertake several developments in the city, including installation of streetlights, new roads and improvement of the drainage system.
She said the government budget cuts had left KCCA with no other choice but to prioritise healthcare. Unlike the 2015/2016 financial year where KCCA’s budget stood at Shs 560bn, government allocated Shs 360bn to the authority this financial year.
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