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Masaka leaders create new administrative units ahead of local elections
Masaka District local government headquarters at Kitabiro Hill in Masaka City PHOTO/ISSA ALIGA
What you need to know:
- According to the Electoral Commission, polls for new office bearers of women councils from village to national level will be conducted later this year after expiry of the current term in August.
Masaka District Council has endorsed a proposal for the creation of new administrative units ahead of women council elections.
According to the proposal, two parishes will be carved out of Kyantale (Kyantale A, Kyantale B), one each in, Bukibonga (Bukibonga A), Zzimwe (Zzimwe A) and Kamwozi (Kamwozi A).
“Some of the parishes in Masaka District are currently very big and the sub county councils deemed it necessary to divide them to create new parishes,” the district finance committee chairperson Mr Peter Ssenkungu noted.
According to the Electoral Commission, polls for new office bearers of women councils from village to national level will be conducted later this year after expiry of the current term in August.
New Village/cell and parish /ward committees will also be elected during the same period.
Speaking to this publication on Tuesday, Mr Ssenkungu observed that creation of new administrative units is also aimed at improving service delivery.
Authorities target having a least five more parishes for Masaka “to benefit more from government programs like Parish Development Model.”
“It is surprising that other districts have over 60 parishes but Masaka, one of Uganda’s traditional districts has only 18,” Mr Ssenkungu opined.
Mr Ssenkungu disclosed that the district council is already aware of demands from sub-count chiefs for quickened creation of the units so that residents participate in the fourth coming local council elections.
“The Electoral Commission is currently conducting verification and confirmation of villages ahead of the women council and village elections. We have to act fast so that the new administrative units in our district take part in this exercise,’’ he added.
Masaka District Chairperson, Mr Andrew Lukyamuzi Batemyetto said some parishes have been comprising over 15 villages which makes supervision and governance difficult.
Mr Batemyetto however, said that the district council has already set up a committee to scrutinize the created administrative units to further advise council on how the new areas will operate.
Masaka District speaker, Mr Francis Kimuli, said that the move will help EC in the exercise it has undertaken to gather views from local leaders on the administrative units’ names and sizes among other issues.
About Masaka
Masaka is one of the areas that were demarcated into other districts in 1966. It currently has 192 villages18 parishes and 4 sub counties including Bukakkata ,Kyanamukkaka, Kyesiga and Buwunga .
Originally, the district comprised Rakai, Kalangala, Kyotera, Lyantonde , Sembabule, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu and Lwengo, making it one of the largest districts in Uganda at the time.
