Kamuli council sitting flops over unpaid allowances, political bickering
Empty seats at Kamuli Youth Council Hall after 44 district councilors opted to sit under tree sheds in protest over nonpayment of their transport and sitting allowance of Shs175,000 respectively. PHOTO/MOSES MUTAKA
What you need to know:
- Kamuli CAO, Nasser Mukibi, accused the councilors of “blackmailing” the district yet they were paid but only had “personal unresolved issues” and remained optimistic that the Speaker will resolve them at the next council session scheduled for next week.
A Speaker in Kamuli District called off a council sitting citing lack of quorum and failure to pay each of the 44 councilors a transport and sitting allowance of Shs175,000 respectively.
The councilors, rather than converge at Kamuli Youth Council Hall where they usually carry out business, decided to sit under tree sheds.
The district councilor Namasagali Sub-county, Moses Kabaale, attributed the flopped council sitting to unpaid allowances and political differences between the LC5 chairman, Maxwell Kuwembula and Speaker, Charles Mpalabule.
“The electorate is bound to lose service delivery if the fights between the LC5 chairperson and Council Speaker continue. We have only sat twice compared to the six mandatory sittings in a calendar year, which might attract penalties if not cleared, Kabaale said on Friday.
He requested the two reportedly warring parties to resolve their differences amicably and focus on their official obligations.
“It incumbent upon the Speaker that he plays his role as stipulated in the Local Government Act Cap 243 rather than changing goal posts. If he has interest in standing for LC5 position, then that is another issue, but not sacrificing service delivery for their personal wars,” said Kabaale.
Female youth district councilor, Noet Nangobi, attributed repeated council flops to personal interests, political hatred, intrigue and lack of technical guidance from the technical team headed by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
Kuwembula distanced himself from allegations that there was a power struggle and bickering between him and the Speaker, saying he had supported Mpalabule at a personal level, and described such accusations as “rumours and imagery”.
He, however, accused Mpalabule of wanting to have rotating councils at Sub-county level without consultations from the Executive Committee and the CAO, but remained optimistic that that would be resolved and they would move on.
Councilors sit under tree sheds rather than converge at Kamuli Youth Council Hall where they usually carry out business. PHOTO/MOSES MUTAKA
Mpalabule said the idea to have council rotating at Sub-county level was opposed by Kuwembula yet they had wanted the local leadership to express their views and problems to the district.
He said: “Our plan was to give between five and ten minutes to the LC3 chairpersons of those Sub-counties to deliberate issues to the rotating council, but surprisingly he (Kuwembula) denied.”
Mpalabule, who rescheduled the next council meeting to November 7, confirmed vying for Kuwembula’s seat but said “it is at a personal level which has nothing to do with my work as Speaker”.
He explained that he called off council sitting due to lack of quorum as councilors decided to sit outside on assumptions of unpaid transport refund.
“They've been here for a number of times without getting their allowances and decided to boycott and sit outside the Hall, the reason why I called off business”.
Kamuli CAO, Nasser Mukibi, accused the councilors of “blackmailing” the district yet they were paid but only had “personal unresolved issues” and remained optimistic that the Speaker will resolve them at the next council session scheduled for next week.
“It is not true that they were not paid because this council which was meant to sit today (Friday) was fully facilitated. It failed because of unresolved issues. Nobody is demanding the district any allowance,” Mukibi added.
