KCCA blames landlords for delaying roadworks

Kampala. Lack of cooperation by some residents in Makindye Division is partly to blame for the delayed planned expansion and renovation of access roads in the area.

According to Kampala deputy Lord Mayor, who is also a resident of Makindye, Ms Sarah Kanyike, reconstruction of some roads in the division has suffered a setback since some residents are reluctant to pull-down part of their perimeter fences to pave way.

Much resistance, according Ms Kanyike, has been experienced in Jjuko Zone, Nsambya-Kevina, Katwe Parish and in some upscale suburbs of Buziga, Kawuku, Munyonyo and Bunga.

“For purposes of widening those roads, we requested residents to freely donate their land, but most of them are very hard to convince. Sometimes they send house helps to speak to our engineers and in the end, no conclusion is reached. They keep demanding money for compensation,” she says.

Ms Kanyike adds that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) wouldn’t have pleaded with residents to donate free land if they had a specific budget for compensation.

“Residents should bear with us, especially in areas where roadworks have not commenced yet. Let them know that it is some of their fellow residents who are delaying our projects,” she says.

Currently, Makindye Division is undertaking major reconstruction and upgrading works of 7.35km, scattered along Kulekana Road -2.1km, Nsambya-Katwe Road - 0.95km, Jjuko Road -1.3km, Kevina Road -1.2km, Appas Road1.3km and Bugolobi-Namuwongo Road - 0.4km. Abubaker Technical Services was contracted to do the roadworks. The contract started on June 20, 2016 and ends on December 2.

Other roadworks, which are ongoing, include; Kalungu Road – 2.5km and Nantongo Road – 0.55km, whose contract was awarded to IBB International Ltd while Stirling Civil Engineering Ltd is working on Kimera Road -1.4km, Kisalita Road -0.7km and Kisosonkole Road1.0km

“Most of those works have been delayed because of the challenge of land acquisition,” says Mr Ali Kasirye Nganda Mulyanyama, Makindye Division Mayor.

In areas where construction works have commenced, Ms Kanyike asks the KCCA technical team to undertake close supervision of the roads to ensure contractors follow the specifications and time frames in their contracts.

“We also need our residents to preserve infrastructure by reporting those who vandalize it. We spend colossal sums of money and this is paid by tax payers,” Ms Kanyike says.

However, Mr Mulyanyama says unlike some landlords who are uncooperative, others have freely provided part of their land to widen the roads. He says they had deliberately skipped a section of Nantongo Road in Taawo Zone, Katwe II Parish after the proprietor of Royal Prince Guest Inn refused to give part of his land to widen the road.

“We have agreed with the executive director (Jennifer Musisi) that we skip some sections where land lords have completely refused to donate land and we have done that in Taawo Zone” he notes.

A lady at Royal Prince Guest Inn, who identified herself only as Madina, declined to comment, saying “compensation issues are not discussed in newspapers”.

Mr Abdul Karim Buuka, a landlord at Taawo Zone in Katwe Parish, says he personally donated land to KCCA to get rid of dust in the area. He called on those who are delaying the project, to cooperate with authorities.

Rolled out plan

Recently, KCCA rolled out the Second Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project (KIIDP 2) seeking to enhance infrastructural and institutional capacity and improve urban mobility. KIIDP2 has two components; widening and construction of city roads, drainage and associated infrastructure. The project is funded by the World Bank at a tune of $183.7m.

The entire project seeks to reconstruct and widen approximately 75km of tarmac road. Technical supervision of the works is under the directorate of engineering, but an oversight role is the responsibility of the political wing which is under the office of the Lord Mayor.

Leaders have also earmarked another 33.9km in Makindye Division that will cost $95.31m. Designs are ongoing on the roads.

“The proposed works will improve our traffic flow and de-congest Kampala city,” Mr Mulyanyama says.
But it is not only Makindye Division where some landlords are unwilling to offer free land for expansion of roads, according to the chairperson of Division mayors that form Kampala City, Mr Emmanuel Sserunjogi.

He says he has reports from other city divisions that some land lords refuse to pull down their perimeter walls to allow expansion of roads in their localities.

“Some (land lords) are looking for compensation money, forgetting that having well paved roads benefit everyone. We ask our people to cooperate so that we achieve the development we want,” he says.