Prime
Kampala land board boss raises flag on Naguru-Nakawa mess
Dr David Balondemu, the chairperson of KDLB
What you need to know:
- In a December 22 letter to Uganda Land Commission boss, which was copied to the Ministry of Lands and Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, the board warned that failure to address the issues would eventually make the project and other crucial government ventures stall.
Kampala District Land Board (KDLB) has drawn attention to issues that need to be dealt with in the Naguru-Nakawa estate saga.
In a December 22 letter to Uganda Land Commission boss, which was copied to the Ministry of Lands and Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, the board warned that failure to address the issues would eventually make the project and other crucial government ventures stall.
The housing estate is government land originally constructed with low-cost houses in the 1960s, but a decision was made in 2007 to demolish the estate and redevelop the land into an ultra-modern satellite town.
According to Dr David Balondemu, the chairperson of KDLB, the characteristic of housing at Nakawa-Naguru, previously before demolition, was occupied by low density, low-cost housing units, dilapidated basic or lower standard single and semi- detached house plots.
“As a result, a public-private partnership project dubbed: “New Kampala 2” proposed by the private company Opec-Prime Contractors was expected to utilise the 160-acre land to develop 1,747 units comprising high-rise flats, bungalows, commercial buildings, a five-star hotel, a referral hospital, schools, houses of worship and recreational facilities,” Dr Balondemu’s document reads.
However, due to multiple reasons, Dr Balondemu said the project failed to kick off and consequently, the land reverted to the government in 2018.
Currently, part of the land is occupied by Naguru Infant Primary School, St Peter’s Church of Uganda, Ntinda Wholesaler-Distributors, National Library of Uganda, Uganda Heart Institute and the Nakawa Division Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) offices.
The board, as the custodian of planning for land use and infrastructure, a prerequisite for land allocation and leasing as per the Physical Planning Act, 2010 and the Land Act 1997, did not play any meaningful role in the project.
In the absence of a clear land use plan and a defined road network, Dr Balondemu wrote to Ms Nabbanja complaining about the allocations, saying: “We see the Uganda Heart Institute project and other planned projects have already faced design, plan approval and implementation challenges or complexities.”
“It is, therefore, prudent that a detailed master plan that configures the infrastructure and utility network is first undertaken before land allocation and leases are granted, otherwise, we risk setting up slum developments in the area without services and properly planned infrastructure and utility lanes,” he states.
Dr Balondemu had demanded that Uganda Land Commission (ULC) provides the Prime Minister and the planning authority (KCCA) with a detailed survey report, leases granted and their respective covenants to first enable KCCA plan for land use and infrastructure needs for the land as a whole for sustainable and planned developments.
“The same issues will affect the Mediheal Group of hospitals if we do not tackle these planning issues raised today. We also have the Lubowa specialist hospital stalling for the same reasons,” Dr Balondemu said.
The Ministry of Land’s spokesperson, Mr Dennis Obbo, told Daily Monitor yesterday that he could not understand why the distress from KDLB was being raised now.
“I am aware that physical planning of that area was done and construction of any infrastructure in that area has to be six floors and above and the plans were approved by the government through the concerned authorities, including the National Physical Planning Board,” Mr Obbo said.
“Many things have changed since then, including implementation of minimum standards required for buildings in that estate. So, I don’t know why he is getting concerned,” he added.
In a November 23 letter, matters of the Nakawa-Naguru estate were still brought to light after the Prime Minister summoned Ms Persis Namuganza (the State Minister for Housing), Ms Jane Ruth Aceng (Health Minister), Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka (the Attorney General) and Ms Minsa Kabanda (the Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs) for a meeting to discuss the presidential directive on allocation of land to Ms Mediheal Group of Hospitals in Nairobi.
“I refer to H.E the President’s directive contained in a February 9, 2021 letter in regard to the above subject,” Ms Nabbanja stated.
“His Excellency directed that seven acres of land in the Nakawa-Naguru Estate be allocated to Mediheal Group of Hospitals for construction of one hospital in Kampala with expectations of expanding to other parts of [the] country. I have noted that this has never been implemented,” Ms Nabbanja added.
The team was invited for a closed-door meeting on November 25 at the Office of the Prime Minister to discuss the matter with the outcome not yet publicly known.
