Lack of physical plan stalls devt of Ishaka town

Bushenyi-Ishaka town council has failed to benefit from government projects due to lack of a physical development plan, local leaders have said.

When Bushenyi was split into Rubirizi, Buhweju, Mitooma, Sheema districts in 2010, Bushenyi-Ishaka town council was elevated to municipality.

Leaders say since then, the town council has been operating without a plan, making it difficult for developers to establish structures for investment. 

“One of the criteria to benefit from government projects is to have a physical plan. I think this has been the reason why the municipality has not been getting these USMID (Uganda Support to Municipal to Infrastructure Development) projects,” Mr Richard Byaruhanga, the municipality mayor, told Daily Monitor this week.

Mr Byaruhanga said the planning department asked political leaders to allocate Shs500m to the department to develop the plan since the municipality does not have enough resources.

He said it collects between Shs600m and Shs700m as local revenue annually out of Shs10.3b budget.
Mr Byaruhanga said if they do not get the plan, the town will face many challenges, adding that illegal structures have already been erected.

Using old plan
Mr Michael Kamugisha, the physical planner, said the town has been operating on an old plan, which has since expired.
“The one we have been using expired two years ago but it is not true that we never had a physical development plan. We hope to get one in future but it needs a lot of money,” Mr Kamugisha said.

Mr David Betega, the town clerk, accused his staff of increasing the cost of developing the plan.
“Making the plan should be handled by the office of the physical planner but the amount to have it is exaggerated because the planner does not want work,” Mr Betega said.“We are struggling with staff who claim to have studied science, and a number of projects are mismanaged, including the physical development plan. I have always indicated that Shs500 million is a lot of money, but we can use our own physical planners instead of hiring a consultant,” Mr Betega said.

He said municipal authorities have held a series of meetings with stakeholders to mobilise funds for the plan.
Mr Betega said despite the absence of the development plan, the municipality is steadily growing. 

“Last financial year, we planned to collect Shs945m local revenue but we managed to collect Shs700m. The municipality is developing because many people, especially those from Bushenyi have started to invest in the local area,” he said.

Composition 

The municipality comprises 78 cells,16 wards and three divisions of Ishaka, Central and Nyakabirizi. According to the National Housing Census of 2014, the municipality has a population of about 41,063 people.

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