KCCA chokes on Shs40 billion court debts
Jennifer Musisi
KAMPALA- Even as Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) continues to grapple with funding gaps following their budget cut from Shs563b to Shs337b for this financial year, the institution is expected to pay Shs40b accrued from court cases lost.
Daily Monitor has learnt that whereas KCCA inherited some of the court debts from its predecessor, the Kampala City Council (KCC), other costs accrued from the current management.
According to the ministerial statement for Financial Year 2017/2018 by Kampala minister Beti Olive Kamya, a copy of which Daily Monitor has seen, one of the major challenges still facing KCCA is the accumulated compensations estimated at more than Shs40b arising from various suits filed against KCCA.
“…more judgments are expected in a number of cases and continuously distress our meagre resources,” Ms Kamya noted in the statement.
In the same statement, the minister also revealed that KCCA made a contingent liability of Shs100b in respect of legal cases in the financial statement for 2015/16, but without indicating a list of the cases lost.
But the councillors have raised the red flag against KCCA’s directorate of legal department, querying the manner in which some cases are lost and compensations made instantly yet there is always a window to appeal against the cases they lose.
On July 31, KCCA councillors petitioned Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago seeking to know all compensations and cases lost since KCCA was established in 2011.
“…we believe these losses are not only as a result of inefficiencies in the directorate but in some case outright connivance,” the petition reads in part .
Councillors contend that the institution has not only lost money but is losing a lot of land for schools, hospitals and markets yet there is a fully staffed and well-funded legal department to handle court cases efficiently.
At least Shs12.4b was allocated to KCCA’s legal department for this financial year with Shs890m expected to come from central government while Shs11.5b will come from Non-Tax Revenue (NTR).
KCCA’s NTR projection for this financial year is Shs122.8b. In the last financial year, KCCA collected NTR of Shs89b.
Mr Lukwago attributed KCCA’s loss of court cases to impunity and incompetence of the legal team, arguing that there is ‘fraud’ in the legal directorate with instances of connivance predominant.
“I am aware of the collusion in that legal department and that’s why you see all those court debts. Secondly, they are incompetent to be in that office because they are causing a great loss to the institution. I have asked for a comprehensive report of all the cases lost and the money involved and I expect them to submit that report soon,” he said in an interview yesterday.
Ms Kamya told Daily Monitor that although the majority of the cases were inherited from KCC, the ones that accrued during KCCA’s time need to be probed.
“It has become a matter of concern that although KCCA has lost majority of the cases, they never appeal against them but proceed to compensate. I am looking into all these irregularities to ascertain the manner in which all these cases arise so that I can take action,” she said.
On June 22, 2017, KCCA director of legal affairs Mike Okua wrote to the President informing him that he would not renew his contract when it expires on October 5. Mr Okua has been working as legal director since 2011 when KCCA was established.
But the councillors have demanded that before Mr Okua leaves office, he must first be audited.
Another KCCA official who is currently in the middle of the storm is Mr Caleb Mugisha, who the councillors accuse of giving away the Nateete market land while acting as the KCCA legal director in 2015. They are now demanding his resignation, saying he is ‘incompetent’ for the job.
