Government abandons satellite city project
Kampala minister Beti Kamya told the former tenants that the original plan had been cancelled after the collapse of the venture between government and Opec Prime Properties Uganda
What you need to know:
- Concerns. The change of plan has upset the nearly 2,000 former tenants who are worried that they could lose out given that Cabinet plans to instead give them only Shs17m each in compensation, which would bring the total bill to about Shs35b. However, Ms Namugwanya said the former tenants should instead be grateful to the government because they were not entitled to receive any compensation.
Government has abandoned its original plan of building low-cost housing units on 162 acres of land at the former Naguru-Nakawa Housing Estate.
The new plan is now to convert the place into a business hub, following the collapse of the agreement with the investor. The new proposal awaits Cabinet approval.
The evicted former tenants of the estate have accused government of plotting to deny them the opportunity to get first rights to own the new houses as had been proposed under the initial plan.
Instead Cabinet now wants each of the former tenants to take a Shs17m compensation.
In an August 29 letter, Kampala minister Beti Kamya told the former tenants that the original plan had been cancelled after the collapse of the venture between government and Opec Prime Properties Uganda.
“I regret to inform you that the public-private partnership agreement between government and Opec Prime Properties Uganda did not come to fruition as had been envisaged, which forced government to cancel the contract,” Ms Kamya said in the letter addressed to Naguru-Nakawa Registered Tenants Association.
She explained that the chief government valuer calculated the cost of a two-bedroom modest house at Shs72m. Ms Kamya said Cabinet resolved to give each former tenant a subsidy of 25 per cent of the house value, which translates into Shs17.7m.
The former residents of the Naguru-Nakawa estate had hoped to acquire decent housing as compensation for their eviction in 2007.
The former residents were ordered to vacate their dilapidated houses on the land to pave the way for construction of modern apartments under a public-private partnership with OPEC Prime Uganda Limited.
Twelve years later, the project has not taken off and the former tenants are scattered in diverse slums in and around Kampala waiting for their compensation. Neighbouring communities say the Naguru estate has turned bushy and become a den for criminals.
State minister for Kampala Benny Namugwanya said Cabinet is considering 12 options, which include establishment of a convention centre as proposed by the Uganda Manufacturers Association.
