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Museveni reappoints Musisi until 2017
Ms Jennifer Musisi . PHOTO BY FAISWAL KASIRYE
What you need to know:
Ms Musisi accepted the offer, pledging to lead “the KCCA team towards the total transformation of Kampala”.
Kampala.
President Museveni has renewed the contract of Kampala Executive Director Jennifer Musisi for another three years.
Ms Musisi, who has endured a turbulent first three years on the job with political fights, especially with Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, accepted the offer, pledging to lead “the KCCA team towards the total transformation of Kampala”.
New contract
The new contract is effective April 15, 2014 and will run until April 14, 2017. Information available to this newspaper indicates that minister for the presidency Frank Tumwebaze wrote to Ms Musisi on February 27, informing her of the President’s decision to give her another term of office.
Ms Musisi wrote back a week later, accepting the offer.
“This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated February 27, 2014 communicating the decision of the President to renew my contract as Executive Director Kampala Capital City Authority….,” Musisi wrote.
“I accept the appointment and thank the President and yourself for the continued support and trust,” she added.
Ms Musisi is the first Executive Director of Kampala since Kampala City Council was upgraded and renamed Kampala Capital City Authority about three years ago.
Ms Musisi took up the job in 2011.
Mr Tumwebaze confirmed the renewal of Ms Musisi’s contract.
“The President decided to renew her contract and I have already written to her communicating the position and she has written accepting the offer,” he said.
Ms Musisi’s first three years have been a mixed bag, delivering a fairly cleaner city with better and more paved roads, flowers and lawns in the middle of the streets and improved street lighting.
But the developments have been accomplished with much more improved resources with KCCA budget jumping more than three fold in the first year of establishment, compared to its predecessor, Kampala City Council.
But the biggest highlight of Ms Musisi’s tenure has been the political fights that put the administrative and technical wing of KCCA on a constant collision course with the political wing led by Lord Mayor Lukwago.
NRM in mayoral nominations
The NRM party will today start a two-day nomination exercise for candidates aspiring to contest in the Kampala mayoral by-election.
The Electoral Commission set April 17 as the date for electing a new Lord Mayor despite a court order that stopped the intended impeachment of the embattled Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago by the city councillors.
On Thurday, Mr Lukwago and his lawyers filed another petition to the High Court, seeking orders to summon EC chairman Badru Kigundu for undermining the court.
Ssematimba in
According to the NRM chairman Kampala District, Mr Salim Uhuru, so far three candidates have picked nomination forms, including 2011 NRM mayoral candidate Peter Ssematimba, Pradeep Karia and Med Kasujja.
“We are set and the process is starting at 9am at our party headquarters. I can’t give you any further information because they directed us not to talk to the media,” Mr Uhuru said. He refuted claims that the former mayor of Kampala Nasser Ssebagala had picked forms to run on the NRM ticket.
“Ssebagala is not in our team and he has never been in NRM. He has to first deregister his Liberal party, which is a long process,” Mr Uhuru added.
Makerere university councilor Bernard Luyiga has also expressed interest in the seat.
Opposition political parties – FDC, DP and UPC have resolved not to take part in the by- election, describing the process as illegal.
