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Busia locals take on Unra over delayed compensation
Mr Solomon Ojambo, who is due for compensation, shows his house affected by the construction of the new road. PHOTO/ DAVID AWORI
What you need to know:
- Works on the road started in June 2014 by China Railway 18th Bureau Group Co Ltd at a cost of Shs208b, and were expected to end in September 2017. However, the completion date was later revised to October 2019.
About 60 residents in Busia Town affected by the construction of the 104km Musita-Namayingo-Busia road say the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) is yet to compensate them five years later.
The residents are from Kisenyi, Madibira, Mugungu, Nangwe and Solo villages in Busia municipality.
Mr Solomon Barasa, a resident of Madibira Village, said despite allowing the road to go through his land, Unra is yet to compensate him.
Accordingly, Mr Barasa says his rental house has developed huge cracks due to the heavy equipment used during the tarmacking of the road, forcing tenants to leave.
“When this road project started, my house had tenants but after cracks developed in the walls, they started shifting one-by-one,” he said in an interview on Monday, adding that the house was his main source of income.
Mr Dan Oundo, another resident, said whereas Unra had compensated the majority of the Project Affected Persons (PAPs) from Musita, through Namayingo and parts of Busia District, residents in Busia Municipality have been forgotten.
“We have been engaging Unra to expedite our compensation process but up to now, nothing has come through,” Mr Oundo added.
Mr Leo Othieno, a retired police officer and a resident of Madibira, said after he allowed Unra to construct the road without being paid, the roads authority promised to have his property evaluated and bank accounts opened, which has not happened.
“We were registered and promised to have the valuation of our property carried out, but it is taking years without the officials embarking on the process they promised,” Mr Othieno said.
He said he is surprised that residents who were affected by the construction of the 26km Busia-Tororo road have started receiving their compensation while his category is yet to be paid.
Mr Edward Wabudi, a former resident district commissioner (RDC), said as Unra delays to initiate their compensation process, the health of some of the elderly beneficiaries is deteriorating by the day. “Many of the PAPs, especially the elderly, are ailing and even have no money to help them access medication,” Mr Wabudi, who is also a former district chairperson, said.
Subsequently, the residents, including Ms Lovisa Mudondo, said they are ready to stop the World Bank-funded Majanji-Busia piped water system from passing pipes through their land without prior compensation.
“Since government failed to compensate us for the road works that went through our land, this time round, we are not allowing the piped water project unless we are given money,” Ms Mudondo said.
Mr Geoffrey Kawo Mbulu, one of the affected residents, said instead of “begging” Unra officials to pay them, it was better if they sought legal redress. “We feel we have had enough; the next step is to take this matter to court,” he said.2
However, Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the Unra spokesperson, says all the PAPs located on the Majanji-Busia section were compensated, adding that those who might not have been compensated must be having issues that are hindering their payoff.
He, however, said he will get back to the teams to establish if there are any PAPs who are not yet compensated and have their funds paid to them. “They should not worry,” Mr Ssempebwa said in a brief telephone interview on Monday.
