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Masaka authorities put properties on sale to raise funds for headquarters
The building that currently houses Masaka District officers. PHOTO | MALIK FAHAD JJINGO
What you need to know:
- Mr Francis Kimuli reiterated that a council resolution to put the district headquarters at Nkuke Village, in Buwunga Sub County still stands even though a section of district leaders want the district headquarters to be located in Kyanamukkaka Sub County
The Masaka District leadership has listed six plots of land and other properties for sale to raise funds for the construction of the district headquarters.
According to Mr Peter Ssenkungu, the Masaka District finance committee chairperson, their target is to raise Shs7 billion to erect an administration block at a new location outside Masaka City.
“We are tired of executing district business in the city, we need our own headquarters,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.
Some of the properties which are up for grabs include; a building housing a veterinary lab located at Katwe Bypass Road, Plot 4 on Kirumba Road, Plot 67 located on Elgin Road, two plots of land at Kitabiro on Kizungu Hill, and Plot 27 in Ssenyange, a Masaka City suburb.
“The finance committee also recommended that Shs29 million be allocated for the construction of a toilet at the site where the district headquarters is going to be located as we prepare to do groundbreaking for the construction of the main administration block,” he added.
Masaka District Speaker, Mr Francis Kimuli reiterated that a council resolution to put the district headquarters at Nkuke Village, in Buwunga Sub County still stands even though a section of district leaders want the district headquarters to be located in Kyanamukkaka Sub County.
“Several stakeholders had different interests, but there is a council decision on this matter that the headquarters have to be established in Buwunga, this cannot be changed by anyone, not even the Ministry of Local Government,” he said.
During a council sitting on January 27, 2022, 11 councillors supported the proposal to take the district headquarters to Buwunga, defeating five of their colleagues who wanted Kyanamukaaka to host the offices.
But during his visit to Masaka last year, Mr Okot Okello, the commissioner in charge of district administration in the Ministry of Local Government, overruled Masaka District Council's decision to build the district headquarters at Nkuke Village insisting that a final decision on where the district headquarters will be located, will be taken by the government.
Following the elevation of Masaka Town to city status on July 1, 2020, the district headquarters located within the city centre had to be shifted to a new location outside the city, according to local government policy.
