| Work Detail |
The Masaka City Council headquarters’ construction has yet to begin, two years after the council allotted funding for the project.
The City Council allotted Sh2 billion to commence construction on the new office block in 2020, but work has yet to start.
The city hall project was included in the city budget for fiscal year 2020–2021. Shs500 million of the budget was generated from local revenue. Also, Sh1.5 billion was obtained through the sale of the mayor’s garden land.
Several issues have been cited as reasons behind this delay. This included a lack of funding and disagreement over the site of the city headquarters.
The project was proposed to be constructed on a four-acre land parcel at Kitabiro Hill, behind the Uganda Post Office building, which the Masaka District asserts is part of its property and is currently home to the district headquarters. The project was proposed by the city leadership, led by the mayor, Ms. Florence Namayanja.
The reason for the Masaka City Council headquarters construction delay
The conflict between land owners where the city authorities intend to build their headquarters is a factor contributing to the project’s delay. This is according to a section of council members at Masaka City Council.
The Masaka City clerk, Mr. Godfrey Bamanyisa, also asserts that a land conflict has hampered their plans to build new offices.
He claimed that Obuntu Consultants Company‘s designs and artistic renderings for the five-storey city hall will soon be completed. He also said that construction will start after that.
Nevertheless, Tony Ssempijja said they had decided with the executive to table the establishment of the new city hall until after their next meeting. He is the speaker for Masaka City Council.
The last time Masaka had a well-designed council hall was in the 1970s. However, the facility was destroyed during the war that resulted in the overthrow of former President Idi Amin. |
