Rubaga RCC, KCCA clash over suspended activities

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has accused the Rubaga Deputy Resident City Commissioner (RCC), Mr Anderson Burora, of using what they called improper channels to address  alleged irregularities in implementation of government projects by the authority.
Mr Burora, among others, suspended all KCCA operations in the division, and accused KCCA leaders of failing to adequately implement and monitor government programmes.

While addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre last Friday, he suspended the services, pending a meeting with the KCCA executive director, Ms Dorothy Kisaka and Kampala minister, Ms Minsa Kabanda, to find amicable solutions.
“Apart from health and social services which include hospitals, maintenance of roads, cleaners, market masters and garbage collectors, the rest are not going to be allowed to work until the head of KCCA and the Kampala Affairs minister  come to Rubaga and sort the urgent issues, ” Mr Burora said.
He added: “If that is not done, the (KCCA) division offices will not perform any duty.”

Earlier, Mr Burora suspended Parish Development Model (PDM) operations, saying KCCA officials included illegible people to benefit from the government anti-poverty project.
 “We have seen lists bearing names of people who are well-off, who own cars, are salary earners and those who own big shops being fronted for PDM. The project was intended for the 39 percent population that lives hand-to-mouth, not those who surpass that level,” he said.
Mr Burora also halted the operations of National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads) and the Community Driven Development, citing ghost beneficiaries. “If you want to trace the groups which benefited from these programmes, they are nowhere. A lot of confusion is involved,” Mr Burora said.

He warned that his directive is a security matter and whoever is found conducting the suspended services will be arrested.
Mr Burora  said he had on several occasions raised the issue with the relevant authorities, but they have not been responsive.
He cited KCCA’s continued implementation of suspended projects, including Lubigi drainage channel. The project was suspended in June over corruption.
Mr Burora claimed that  some affected people were not compensated.
“I have written to the KCCA ED (executive director), I have met her but nothing has been done,” Mr Burora said.
He added: “It is no longer a matter of discussion, it’s a matter of action. People are openly being told that it is the President who has cut the services from them, which is not true.”

However, the KCCA deputy spokesperson, Mr Robert Kalumba, described the directives as unfortunate, adding that they will affect service delivery.
“The RCC was with the minister for Kampala and KCCA executive director yesterday (Thursday) at the Office of the Prime Minister where KCCA was presenting to them what it has done but he did not raise the issues,” Mr Kalumba said.
“He even participated and gave his comments about Naads project. It is to my surprise that he has now run to the media to suspend the operations,”  he added.

Mr Kalumba added that if the deputy RCC had issues with service projects in his division, he would have used the right channels to address them.
Responding to PDM  beneficiaries, Mr Kalumba said the lists were verified by security organs, among others, and if he had issues with them in Rubaga, he should have taken the matter to the concerned authorities.
Last week Mr Burora said several officers implicated in irregularities would be hand over to the relevant bodies for investigations.