KCCA hands over new infrastructure to Makerere
Costs. The value of land given to KCCA by Makerere that facilitated the in-kind compensation while the developments were worth Shs700m. Courtesy photo
KAMPALA. Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) yesterday officially handed over a refurbished main gate and nine roads to Makerere University management, and a three-storey classroom block to Makerere College School.
The 3.5km refurbished roads were constructed with inbuilt drainage and large car parks, paved walkways and street lights, and pedestrian crossings regulated by traffic lights.
These include Mary Stuart Hall Road, Pool Road, Livingstone Road, Livingstone Hall Road, Lincoln Road, Technology Road, Police Road, Religious centres’ roads and the western gate road.
The authority’s Shs6.9b in-kind compensation in terms of the new infrastructure follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on June 21, 2016 between KCCA and Makerere after the former encroached on the latter’s 2.468 acres of land during the ongoing Makerere Hill Road Construction.
While officiating at the event, KCCA’s outgoing executive director Jennifer Musisi said the negotiations to compensate the university were difficult at the start.
Rough start
“It was a very complex matter at first because there are times when even our contractors on the Makerere Hill Road project were impounded by some people who accused us of grabbing university land, and some actually took us to court. However, I am happy that Makerere management accepted our in-kind compensation,” Ms Musisi said.
However, she challenged the university management to embark on other income generating projects such as engaging alumni for financial support instead of relying on government for funding.
“Former students, if well engaged, can fully support the institution (Makerere). What they only need is to assure them that the money they pool together will be put to good use. In doing so, the financial burden reduces. This is what we do at KCCA where every employee contributes towards charity work,” Ms Musisi said.
The new Makerere Hill Road is one of the roads that were constructed by KCCA under the second Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project (KIIDP-2) aimed at enhancing the infrastructure and institutional capacity of the city.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, said the new infrastructure has given the institution a new outlook.
Vote of thanks
“Our students can now walk freely at night without being harassed because the whole campus is now lit. Our new main gate is one of the best among universities both at a local and international level. When you look at our new road network, it is the best ever in the history of Makerere,” Prof Nawangwe said.
He said the university will continue partnering with KCCA for the development of the city.
Ms Mary Akite, a student of Computer Science, said: “Inadequate lighting was a security threat but we are happy that this has been solved.”
