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Mbale officials protest sale of town clerk’s house
A partial view of the town clerk’s residence in Mbale Town. Mr Edward Lwanga has been ordered to vacate the premises. PHOTO by FRED WAMBEDE
What you need to know:
Governance. Mbale officials claim the Lands ministry sold several plots, including the Town Clerk’s residence without their approval. However, government says the sale was in line with a policy.
Mbale. Mbale Municipal officials have accused the Ministry of Lands of selling the town clerk’s residence without their knowledge.
The officials also accuse the ministry of fraudulent allocation of public spaces at Nkambo, Busoga lane and the Lorry Park land without permission from the municipal council.
This followed a July 8 letter from the Ministry of Local Government Permanent Secretary, Mr Patrick Mutabwire, asking the town clerk, Mr Edward Lwanga, to vacate the premises.
According to the letter, which Daily Monitor has seen, the plot was sold to Mr Abbey Iga, a former town clerk in 2012, by Uganda Land Commission.
“Mr Iga applied to purchase the property and Uganda Land Commission offered to sell the house on Plot 3 A Masaba Gardens at Shs200m, which he bought,” the letter reads in part.
The permanent secretary said the sale was in line with government policy passed in 2000 to separate it from providing housing facilities to civil servants.
However, during the meeting at the municipal chambers last week with officials from the Ministry of Lands, Mr Lwanga said the ministry was acting arbitrarily.
In his July 6 letter to the ministry after he was served with notice to be sued, Mr Lwanga claimed the property belongs to Mbale Municipal Council.
“This is the official residence of the town clerk,” the letter reads in part.
The Mayor, Mr Mtwalib Zandya, told Daily Monitor that they did not expect the eviction letter because they knew the property belonged to the municipal council.
“We were surprised that the ministry of Lands sold the plot and property on it without our knowledge,” Mr Zandya said.
Response
The permanent secretary Ministry of Lands, Mr Gabindadde-Musoke, told the municipal officials last week that he thought the issues were sorted out long ago. He said he needed to get the documents and more time to address the matter.
