How new Masaka city will be administered

With less than two weeks left to the operationalisation of Masaka City, local authorities have unveiled an administrative structure for the interim administration.

Under the interim administration of the new city, which takes effect on July 1, executive committees in sub-counties that were annexed to Masaka will be fused into the newly created municipalities of Nyendo/ Mukungwe and Kimaanya /Kabonera.

The annexed administrative units include three sub- counties and four parishes. The sub-counties are; Buwunga, Mukungwe and Kabonera while the parishes are Kibisi and Kasanje, which were all carved out of Kalungu District, and Kiteredde and Ssenya from Kingo Sub-county in Lwengo District.

Affected local leaders
“District councillors from areas that have been annexed to Masaka will soon join the municipal council to form the interim city council but we are still waiting for the final guidelines from Ministry of Local Government on the fate of the chairpersons of the annexed sub-counties and their executives,” Mr Godfrey Kayemba Afaayo, the Masaka Municipality mayor, said on Tuesday.

He added: “But if all goes well, they [chairpersons of annexed sub-counties] will have to go into an internal election to choose among the three chairpersons who will lead the created two municipalities.”

After annexing some areas to form Masaka city, the traditional Masaka District will remain with four sub-counties, including Kyesiga, Kyanamukaka, Bukakkata and Buwunga. The district will remain with two constituencies (Bukoto East and Bukoto Central ) and a female legislator.

On the other hand, the new city will also have a woman MP and two other legislators representing the newly created municipalities of Nyendo/ Mukungwe and Kimaanya/ Kabonera.
Mr Afaayo said the annexed rural areas will enable them restore recreation facilities already occupied by squatters.

He said they are currently in the process of designing new structural and physical plans that suit the city standards.
“We need to have gazetted spaces for public cemetery, an industrial park, sports centres and garbage recycling plants, among others. We also plan to have an airstrip in the new city. All these require proper planning,” he said.

The mayor added that they are yet to receive a clear map showing city boundaries from the Ministry of Local Government and an advisory committee is yet to be put in place.

However, the town clerk, Mr John Behangane, said they are still stuck with a challenge of raising funds to open up new roads in areas annexed to the city.

Currently, Masaka Municipality sits on 46 square kilometres but the new city will occupy 100 square kilometres .

Incumbent Masaka Municipality MP Mathias Mpuuga has already positioned himself to stand in the new Nyendo/Mukungwe Municipality where he will tussle it out with Democratic Party vice president Denis Mukasa Mbidde and Ms Sarah Kiyimba of National Resistance Movement.

Aspirants who have so far expressed interest to contest for new Kimaanya /Kabonera Municipality Parliamentary seat include current Masaka Mayor Godfrey Kayemba Afaayo, Masaka District chairperson Jude Mbabaali and Mr Robert Asiimwe, the proprietor of Kingo Parents School.

New units
Composition
Nyendo/Mukungwe Municipality will be made up of three sub-counties of Katwe/ Butego, Nyendo/ Ssenyange and Mukungwe plus the parishes of Kasanje and Kibisi from Kalungu District.

Kimaanya/ Kabonera Municipality will comprise two sub-counties of Kimaanya/Kyabakuza and Kabonera and two parishes (Kiteredde, Ssenya) from Kingo Sub-county in Lwengo District.