Masaka residents demand compensation over powerline
Mr Ali Mugerwa, one of the affected residents, addresses a meeting that was convened by UETCL officials in Nyendo division last weekend. BY MARTINS E SSEKWEYAMA
Masaka- As Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) embarks on the construction of power lines stretching from Kawanda to Masaka, families displaced by the project say they have not been fully compensated.
Some have warned they will not move until they are adequately compensated for their property and land.
The residents say they were supposed to get disturbance allowance, but they have not yet received the money.
“In 2008, UETCL conducted the first mapping and issued notices to 26 people who were in the demarcated area for the transmission lines to stop further activities as they wait for compensation, but our money has not been processed to date,” Mr Joseph Yawe, a resident, said.
The project is being funded by government after borrowing $90m (about Shs270 billion) from the World Bank.
During a meeting convened by UETCL and Masaka District officials in Nyendo-Ssenyange Division last Friday, residents said the company was considering a fresh design in which 16 of the previously affected families are left out.
“I am entitled to a disturbance allowance to compensate the time and money lost for not putting the premise to use,” Mr Ali Mugerwa, another resident, said.
Mr Mugerwa said they had previously filled and signed evaluation forms to prepare for compensation and wondered why UETCL could suddenly cancel the process without returning the papers.
Mr Thomas Kasule, the UETCL officer in charge of compensation, told residents that the project never catered for disturbance allowances.
“Word Bank policies have no formulae for disturbance allowance. We are going to engage ministry of Energy to find a solution to the problem,” he said.
