Mbale Town leaders faulted over substandard buildings

Residents of Mbale Municipality have accused their leaders of complicit in the mushrooming substandard buildings in the town.
The residents said the substandard structures, which have been constructed without approval from the physical planning committee, are prevalent in Taxi and Bus Park, Uhuru Park, Lorry Park, Railway playground and behind North Road Primary School.
“Illegal buildings have created disorder in this town. There is lack of monitoring and supervision on the side of the municipal leaders,” Mr Safiyi Mafabi, the chairperson of Mbale Elders Forum, said.
He was speaking during the launch of transformation campaign at council chambers at the weekend. The campaign is aimed at ensuring that the town regains its former glory as the cleanest in East Africa ahead of acquiring city status.
Mr Akim Watenyeri, the vice chairperson of the Uganda Peoples Congress party in the area, said most illegal structures are built at night and during weekends when there is less supervision by the authorities.
“The proprietors are building at night and during weekends with protection from the people above. The say they don’t need any approval from council or any other concerned authorities,” he said.
Mr Ali Walusimbi, a member of the Municipal Development Forum, said there is a need to update the municipality physical development plan and to establish a geographic information system.
“The town is still operating on physical plans of 1960s and yet the population has grown. This needs to be updated because the town is soon becoming a city,” he said.
Ms Sylvia Nafuna, a resident of Wagagai Cell in Northern Division, said land grabbers have built houses on sewer lines and drainage systems.
“We always complain to the municipal officials but we get no response. They are more powerful than us, so we have nothing to do,” he said.
Ms Doreen Kapsulel, the principal public relations officer for the National Water and Sewerage Corporation in eastern region, acknowledged that the mushrooming buildings with no approved plans are posing sewage management challenges.
“People building on sewer lines pose a big challenge because when sewer lines get blocked, it becomes very hard for us to maintain them because we can’t access networks,” she said.
Ms Kapsulel added that they plan to have a meeting with municipal leaders on how to enforce discipline during construction.
Mr James Kutosi, the spokesperson of Mbale Municipality, said they will soon launch an operation to demolish the illegal structures.
“It is true we have illegal structures and it is a big challenge for us as council. It is one of the issues we going to address,” he said.
The mayor, Mr Mutwalibi Zandya Mafabi, said the physical planning committee has not done enough to combat the problem of illegal structures. “There are some gaps in the physical planning committee but we are going to handle it,” Mr Mafabi said.
He added that they will summon the owners of illegal structures over the matter. “We are going to sit with them and find a solution to this because it is pertinent that people go through streamlined ways and get approval from council before building,” he said.