Kampala Leaders Urged to Prioritize Poor Citizens

The Private Secretary to the president of Uganda in charge of Youth, Dr Hillary Musoke has urged the political and technical leadership of Kampala to always give priority to the under privileged while taking decisions.

Musoke says that the National Resistance Movement government has always worked for the poor person not the rich.

“I implore the Executive Director KCCA, the minister, Lord Mayor and his cabinet, and all counselors to consider that taxi driver, that womab in the market, before they take a decision, these people are the reason why the NRM government has existed,” Musoke told the press at Fairway Hotel in Kampala.

He was commenting on the ongoing land wrangles in the old taxi Park where some business men cordoned off part of the newly refurbished Park.

“Who sold them the land, where are the papers giving them ownership, this is government land, for now we have removed the barricades and the taxi drivers are free to use that piece of land,” Musoke said.

He added that as government, they will be meeting all stakeholders to get a permanent solution to the matter.

While addressing journalists at city Hall this week, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago said the businessmen who claim to own plots in the Old Taxi Park do not deserve to be compensated because they never carried out any developments on the land in question.

He added that the businessmen acquired the plots illegally.

“They claim to have bought those plots way back in 2005 and until now, they have failed to take a position; obviously they have no legal basis. As KCCA, we sat and made a recommendation to council that we should repossess those plots. And the little money those people had paid be refunded,” he said.

Lukwago said it was disheartening to see individuals break up the park whose recent renovation cost government Shs10.9 billion.

Businessmen, Abamwe Transporters Ltd owns plots 21-23 measuring 0.067 hectares on Burton Street while Kabale Distributors Ltd possesses plots 27-29 measuring 0.55 hectares on Ben Kiwanuka Street.

Other companies claiming ownership of plots in the Old Taxi Park are Contractors & Transport Services Limited, D.K.S Uganda Ltd, Key & Ham Investments Ltd, Aponye Uganda Limited, Lukyamuzi Investments Ltd, City Oil (U) Ltd, Shumuk Industries Ltd and The Giant Eagle Mobile Phones & Accessories Ltd.