Wakiso boss accuses councillors of taking bribes in sand mining deal

WAKISO. Wakiso District chairperson Matiya Lwanga Bwanika has accused his councillors of accepting bribes from Gen Salim Saleh who he says is involved in illegal sand mining in Entebbe Municipality.

Mr Bwanika said he has gathered undisputable evidence that on three occasions; on November 17, December 21 and December 31 last year, some of his councillors were led to meet Gen Saleh, the coordinator of Wealth Creation Operation, who claimed was opening development windows to the district in disguise to coerce councillors into endorsing a sand mining company Mango Tree, to mine sand illegally.

He indicated the councillors have met the top general on three occasions at Namunkekeera and Kawanda. However, Mr Robert Ndyomugyenyi, Gen Saleh’s political assistant, accused Mr Bwanika of ‘chasing selfish interests.’

“That man is peddling falsehoods. When his selfish interests collapsed, he has resorted to politics but he knows that the investors (Mango Tree) are carrying on a viable project. Did he also say that I personally delivered him to Gen Saleh at night? I did,” Mr Ndyomugyenyi said.

Mr Bwanika had earlier on in a press conference indicated that Gen Saleh reached out to him via telephone.
“I thought it was a good gesture. I went to his home but we disagreed when he started the topic of sand mining by Mango Tree. I rejected his calls and told him to seek technical advice,” Mr Bwanika said.

He said during all occasions where Gen Saleh met his district councillors, he served them with inducements such as good meals and allowances.

“The meetings often started with briefings on how to develop the district through Operation Wealth Creation but at the end of each of the meetings, a Chinese was brought in to preach the benefits of sand mining, luring the councillors to endorse that activity,” Mr Bwanika told a press briefing yesterday.

“What amount of knowledge do councillors wield to endorse a sand mining activity? Some of them cannot even take an oath,” he said.
He accused government of failure to elevate the district to city status where it would achieve more revenue so that councillors are content.

Bribery allegations
“They (some government officials) have now resorted to giving handouts to councillors in order to take through their deals. I will not allow this even when I remain alone in the fight,” he added.

Last year, Bwanika fought with Chinese belonging to Mango Tree Sand miners in Nkumba and arrested some of them. He also stormed another sand mining facility in Kasanje Sub-county operated by a company called Only-You and the owners have since abandoned their machinery at the site.

“Mango Tree got a licence to build ships but they resorted to sand mining where they sold sand at billions of [shillings]. We know for a fact that Nema has cancelled their licenses,” Mr Bwanika said, adding that the fight to save the degradation of Lake Victoria should be picked up by all stakeholders in East Africa.

He said the deputy chief administrative officer, Mr Wasswa Masokoyi, who he accused of arranging visits for councillors, is a small entity who cannot make any binding decision for the council.
Mr Masokoyi who was also present in the press briefing said all the visits were intended to promote urban agriculture in the district.

“Wakiso is fragmented and we went to discuss agricultural enterprises like dairy that can be accommodated on small pieces of land. Nothing more to that,” Mr Masokoyi said.

Wakiso District speaker, Mr Simon Nsubuga, said councillors have no problem with sand mining by Mango Tree and accused Mr Bwanika of playing politics in development.

“Mango Tree will create jobs as well as get the district revenue. The position of my chairman is to do away with sand mining. That’s where we differ,” Mr Nsubuga said.

He added that it is true they have met with the general and received money but it was meant as refund for transport.
But Bwanika insists sand mining must be regulated properly.

NEMA RESPONDS
Mango Tree sought approval to construct a ship building yard at Bugiri-Bukasa Village, Katabi Sub-county, Wakiso District. NEMA granted the approval on June 1, 2016. This certificate is restricted to ship building.

Between July and August 2016, a criminal case was opened against Mango Tree following a tip off that a large ship on Lake Victoria had been mining and dumping sand at Miami Beach in Luzira.

On September 2, Mango Tree submitted its Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Report to Nema seeking approval to mine sand from three spots on the lake. The EIA was rejected on September 6, 2016, basing on the fact that disturbances on lake/river beds are prohibited by law. Between April 9 and 12, 2017, Nema accompanied by officials from relevant state agencies inspected sites that Mango Tree insisted were safe for sand mining.

Subsequently, a report rejecting Mango Tree’s sand mining activities was compiled and circulated to relevant ministries, agencies and district officials.

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