Locals, Unra lock horns over compensation plan

More than 80 people living in the Karugutu-Ntoroko oil road reserve have accused the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) of issuing them with an eviction notice without compensation.
Unra recently issued a three-month ultimatum to the residents to vacate the area to allow commencement of construction works.

However, the residents claim their property was undervalued and the money paid to them cannot enable them find alternative land to resettle. Others claim they have not been compensated at all.
Ms Mirirani Tingiramurungi, 70, a resident of Karugutu Town Council, said she had put up a permanent house but received only Shs28m as compensation, which she said is not enough to put up a new one in another location.

She said she tried to construct another house but the money got finished half way the construction process.
“The money l received is not enough to put up a new structure of eight rooms and I am stuck at the rim beam,” Ms Tingiramurungi told Daily Monitor last Friday.
She said she now lives in a makeshift shelter under a tree.
According to Mr Abubaker Kyaligonza, the chairperson of the grievance management committee at Karugutu Town Council, Unra compensated residents between June and August but left out others.
The residents claim they were asked to sign for the inadequate compensation under duress.

Mr Kiiza David, 60, a resident of Nyabuhura II Village in Karugutu Town Council, said Unra paid him Shs18m for a plot of land he bought in 2016 at the same price. This, he said, included a house.
“The engineers have computed bills of quantities and labour at Shs35 million for the new house. So even if I get the money to put up a new house, I will have lost my plot,” Mr Kiiza said.
The area councillor, Ms Olivia Mutamba, urged Unra to review the compensation process.

“People have failed to build new houses in town using the money they got as compensation from government. In town, we need well planned houses, even the disturbance fee was as little as Shs2 million and things are very expensive now,” she said.
Mr Yahaya Tumusiime, the community process facilitator at Kabarole Research and Resource Centre, said: “Residents fear court; most of them have never stepped in court, so by the government valuer telling then to sign or pick the compensation money from court as works go on was enough intimidation to force the people to sign for little money. If government does not quickly intervene, very many people will be homeless.”

In a September 13 letter to the manager of Unra regional branch, Mr Kyaligonza said: “The cost of the pieces of land of the affected persons as showed by their land agreements were highly undervalued. The government valuer forced the affected persons to consent by signing for the compensations.”
The Unra regional manager, Ms Rachael Ngonzebwa, promised to look into the matter.
“We are going to meet the affected persons soon and hear their complaints and see how we can solve them; the exercise of compensation is still going on,” she said.

Government has proposed an amendment to the Land Act and related laws that would enable it to acquire land for timely implementation of public works and other investment projects. The rationale behind the resolution is that members of the public act as bottlenecks in the implementation of such investment projects.
Government argues that on many occasions, people reject government compensation and hold out for more money, which in the process delays government projects.

WORK ON OIL ROADS
Work on some of the 12 oil roads started in April 2018. The roads are to facilitate the movement of oil and the equipment. Unra has planned to upgrade the 55.4km Karugutu–Ntoroko road to class II bituminous surface, with culverts and drainage channels. The road designs were completed and works may start in January 2020.

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