KCCA loses Shs13b in rent arrears

Kampala.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has failed to recover Shs13 billion as ground rent arrears.
The debts are reflected in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year ending 2013.
The debt arose after tenants who previously occupied KCCA’s public land refused to remit rental fees.
Mr Bob Kabaziguruka, the chairperson of the KCCA Public Accounts Committee (Pac), while meeting members of the technical team headed by executive director, Ms Jennifer Musisi, last week wondered why the authority has not recovered the money yet it is heavily indebted.
“This money hasn’t been recovered yet and I would like to know what actions KCCA has taken against the defaulters,” Mr Kabaziguruka asked.
He faulted KCCA for taking long to recover the debt that has dragged on for close to five years.

Defence
However, Ms Musisi told the committee that some of the debt had been inherited from the defunct Kampala City Council (KCC) whose tenure was faced with land management challenges.
The KCC director in-charge of revenue collection, Mr Fred Andema, explained that some defaulters could be traced because records from the defunct KCC went missing.
“We have always had challenges in recovering these arrears since Kampala District Land Board [KDLB] is the one which allocates public land to people on behalf of KCCA. Unless they show us who owes us, we cannot trace the defaulters,” Mr Andema said.
He said they have since dragged some of the defaulters to court.
Mr Kabaziguruka told the executive director and her team that it is unfair for people to default on such a huge sum of money and be left to walk scot-free. He said as the accounting officer, Ms Musisi must take responsibility of all public property.
During the same meeting, Ms Musisi was asked to explain the manner in which some people are illegally occupying public land in the city.
Mr Kabaziguruka was referring to Plot 17 in Kiswa, Nakawa Division, which was controversially given to Kashari-Buhweju Farmers Ltd to redevelop it into a children’s park against the advice of the Inspector of General of Government. The land measures 0.245 hectares.

Land wrangle
On March 15, 2006, KDLB gave a five-year initial lease to Kashari-Buhweju Farmers Ltd. After five years, the lease would be extended to 49 years.
The company would pay premium of Shs10m to the then KCC and ground rent of Shs200,000 per annum to KDLB but to be revised every year.
However, area residents raised a red flag against the transaction on grounds that the lease was fraudulently offered to the company. But the complaint was trashed by the then technocrats at Nakawa Division.
The residents also alleged that the local council recommendations to lease out the land to the company had been forged by the technocrats of Nakawa Division by then.
KCCA acting director for legal affairs Charles Ouma told the committee that KCCA has since reported the matter to police for further investigations.
“The giveaway of that land is being probed by the Criminal Investigations Department at Kibuli and when the probe is done, we shall furnish this committee [pac] with a report, but we are doing what we can to save public land,” he said.
Ms Musisi explained that although the land board is independent, KCCA takes responsibility of whatever they do because all the money they collect goes to the institution’s treasury.