NWSC warns Mbale Municipal Council over illegal structures

Although council engineers are contemplating demolishing the buildings constructed on the main sewer line in the main taxi and bus parks and Kumi Road, they have been let down by some senior officials .

National Water and Sewerage Corporation has warned Mbale Municipality that they risk an outbreak of diseases if they do not stop constructing on the sanitary corridor behind Kumi Road.

In a February 27 letter to the town clerk, Mr Joseph Kimbowa, the water body said the constructions between Kumi Road and North Road Primary School have encroached on the gazetted corridor for sewers, storm waters, blocked drainage channels and existing water mains.

“The walls of the structures are supposed to be 1.8 meters from the sewerage line. This is when the verandah is not yet constructed, implying that the verandah will be superimposed on the sewerage line, leaving completely no working space in case of sewerage blockages and this will pose a health risk to the residents,” read part of the letter signed by the NWSC manager in-charge of Mbale area, Mr Jackson Turyahurira.
Although, according to minutes of the Works Committee dated August 22 last year, the proposal to erect shops at the site were rejected citing lack of approval from the Physical Planning Committee, the construction was approved without the council’s endorsement.

The frustration
The Daily Monitor has learnt that although council engineers are contemplating demolishing the buildings constructed on the main sewer line in the main taxi and bus parks and Kumi Road, they have been let down by some senior officials .

Mr Abbey Makwasi, the municipal speaker, has described the technical staff as lacking in capacity to effectively handle the municipality’s physical planning and development department.

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