Kasese Town stuck with Shs12b for road projects

Kasese Municipality is yet to utilise Shs12 billion allocated by the central government under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme in the last financial year.
The mayor, Mr Godfrey Kabyanga, said the money is lying idle on their account due to unapproved architectural designs for selected roads.
“It is true we [council] received USMID funds in the last financial year but we can’t use the money since the Lands ministry has not yet allocated a consultant to make the designs for the town,” Mr Kabyanga said in an interview at the weekend.
He urged the Ministry of Lands to expedite the procurement of a consultant for the project.
“The programme is late by one and half years but it is not our own making. Once the consultant is selected, we shall be able to catch up since money is there,” Mr Kabyanga noted.
He said under the USMID programme, the municipality is supposed to conduct capacity building for critical projects that need to be implemented in the town. Among the projects to be implemented are street lighting, drainage construction, paving and tarmacking of major roads, among others.
Kasese Municipality MP Robert Centenary said the objectives of USMID programme may not be achieved if the area leaders do not speed up implementation of the projects.
The municipal speaker, Mr Alex Kwatampora Binego, said the money may be recalled by the central government if it is not utilised in time.
“We [council] are worried about the money. It affects our budget, we keep carrying it forward. We are scared it may be taken back because we are not using it and yet we are in dire need of planned projects,” he said.