Minister Magyezi directs on development of Kitagata hot springs

The Minister for Local Government, Mr Raphael Magyezi, has directed that the famous Kitagata hot springs in Kitagata town council, Sheema District should be turned into an aqua tourism and spa centre.

Mr Magyezi made the directive at the weekend during a crisis meeting with stakeholders, leaders, and residents of Kitagata town council following a row between town council authorities and residents.

The residents and users of Kitagata hot springs have since the beginning of this year resisted government plans to improve the hot springs citing fraud and intimidation from the town council authorities.

In a letter to the minister of local government, more than 631 petitioners raised eight contentious issues against the proposed development of the hot springs.

The petitioners highlighted issues such as; the unexplained delay by the government in starting of works on the agreed site, Ekyomugabe and focusing on Mulago site, which was initially out of scope.

They argued that the government attempted to take over the Mulago side of the springs before an amicable agreement with the landlord; something they said would result into a court action, thus costly legal processes.

The users of the hot spring had fears that once their site, Mulago is developed, their interests may not be met. The users also raised a point of intimidation brought about by ‘highhandedness and abuse of law’.

“Suffice to say that in democratic dispensation such as in Uganda, every citizen has a right to obtain information that he considers important. Despite this right, whoever has attempted to seek information regarding the project has either been threatened, ridiculed or actually punished. Some councilors were not paid their allowances because they raised concerns about the attempted takeover of Mulago side of the hot springs by the Ministry of Tourism,” the petition reads in part.

After reading the petition and hearing from the stakeholders, Minister Magezi directed that the Omugabe side of the hot springs be developed by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife & Antiquities, and will remain property of the government of Uganda, while the Mulago side of the hot springs remains a public utility (owned and managed by the local community) and there should be no extra charges to users other than what is being charged currently (Shs1000).

The minister also halted the eviction of vendors and users of the springs by Kitagata Town Council, stating that a community management association will be registered as a corporate body, where the community will be consulted on any developments on the hot springs. The community has been given one month to put in place a management committee.

Other directives include;

- Mulago side of the hot springs to be developed by the Ministry of Local Government in partnership with the community through a public, private partnership (PPP) arrangement. A Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by 30th May 2021.

- Government will compensate the Ibara family (Attorney General to take lead in this issue) within a period of two months from the day of the meeting. This was after the government recognised the fact that Ibara family has vested interests in the hot springs as it's hosted in their family land.

-  The parties to adhere to the regulations of NEMA in environmental management, Ministry of Health standard operating procedures and the security of persons and property. Mr Magyezi faulted the Kitagata town council officials for failing to sensitise the public on the proposed development of the hot springs.

“We found out that the town council authorities did not take time to explain to the community what was going to be done here, how the community was going to benefit, among other things. It seems you forgot to do what you were supposed to do as local leaders.”

Mr Magezi tasked the local council (Kitagata Town Council) to mobilise and sensitise citizens on the directives.

Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, the minister of justice and constitutional affairs, who is also the Sheema South Member of Parliament asked community members to always use the right channels to address issues instead of using violence.