Nakawa estate titles go missing
Land titles of six acres of former Nakawa-Naguru Housing Estate has gone missing, Opecprime Properties Ltd, the firm redeveloping the area, has said.
In a October 26 progress report to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Local Government, Mr Steve Kashaka, the firm acknowledges receiving the land titles for both sites, but pointed the Nakawa Estate titles for six acres could not be traced.
“We are pleased to confirm that in September 2011 we received the certificate of title for the Naguru project site and (at) the beginning of October 2011, we received the titles for the Nakawa project site minus six acres,” reads the report signed by Chief Operations Officer Mohamed Mulindwa.
The news of the missing titles comes at a time when government said it is compensating a number of investors who it had erroneously given part of the Nagurur-Nakawa land last year.
Minister unaware
It has proposed to give 57.9 acres of land belonging to Uganda Railways Corporation to 13 investors who had been given land in Naguru-Nakawa estates. They are; William Nkemba, National Library, CTM Tiles, Islamic University Uganda, and House of DAWDA, among others.
Local government minister Adolf Mwesigye, however, said yesterday he was not aware that titles of six acres in the area had gone missing and referred this reporter to the Uganda Land Commission. However, the commission chairman, Mr Mayanja Nkangi, declined to comment, saying, “I am not in charge.”
The progress report also indicates that consultations between Opecprime and a London-based ARUP Urban Designers, Planners and Engineers are in the final stages.
In July, government evicted 1,750 families from the 66-hectares. The tenants had been given several deadlines but failed to honour them, demanding that they needed assurance from government that they would be given priority in acquiring the new housing units.
Government signed an agreement with UK-based Opecprime Properties Ltd, in 2005, to redeveloped the estate into a satellite city.
The IGG, however, halted the project at the petition of the tenants. Its investigation found that government flouted the procurement process and called for fresh bidding. Government however ignored the report.
