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KCCA to demolish unapproved city buildings
Police Fire and Rescue services brigade search for survivors from a collapsed building on Makerere Hill Road in Kampala in April this year. File photo
What you need to know:
- To redevelop the city slums, he said they are engaging land owners in such areas to enter into negotiations with investors who don’t have land but have money to redevelop them.
- This warning comes on the heels of public outcry over the collapse of some city buildings, the latest being a building located on Makerere Hill Road where four people died.
KAMPALA. All buildings that were constructed within the city without approved plans from Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) face demolition.
While addressing journalists at City Hall yesterday, KCCA director of physical planning, Mr Moses Atwine Kanuniira, revealed that 75 per cent of buildings within the city were erected without approved plans.
This poses a risk to the lives of occupants, according to Mr Kanuniira.
“We have registered 3,500 houses in the city so far and the exercise is still ongoing. However, we have learnt that most of the buildings were built without plans,” observed Mr Kanuniira.
“These buildings will definitely be affected when redeveloping the city streets and roads and as a result, they will be demolished. All those people who are planning to build houses should come and get approved plans,” Mr Kanuniira said.
He said majority of the buildings don’t pay property rate because they are not registered, something he said, affects the revenue collection in the city. “All owners of city buildings have to pay property rate but majority of them don’t pay. After carrying out the exercise of property registration, we shall ascertain which buildings don’t pay and we deal with them. The exercise will further help us establish how many buildings were approved by KCCA,” he said.
KCCA law
According to Section 46(1) of the KCCA Act, the authority shall be responsible for the planning in the capital city.
KCCA is currently on a master plan to redevelop the city and Mr Kanunira said this will affect many buildings that don’t have approved plans.
Asked why many property owners don’t want to get plans before they construct, he said that majority of them think that it is costly yet one square mile costs Shs1,000 only.
This warning comes on the heels of public outcry over the collapse of some city buildings, the
Collapsed building owner defied KCCA
Mr Moses Kyeseka, the owner of the building on Makerere Hill Road that collapsed on Tuesday and killed four people, used a plan that had not been approved by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), officials have revealed
where four people died.
After the collapse, KCCA revealed that its owner, Mr Moses Sekyeya, had defied them on the plan of the building before the construction started.
To redevelop the city slums, he said they are engaging land owners in such areas to enter into negotiations with investors who don’t have land but have money to redevelop them.
During yesterday’s physical planning meeting between KCCA planners and other officials from different ministries, KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi said they have since adopted Geo Information Systems (GIS) to enable Kampala people access services without necessarily going to City Hall.
“Under this system, we are able to monitor all the activities going on in the city and hence we can quickly respond to the people’s demands,” she said.
