Prime
Unfulfilled pledges irk MPs
Duty. The vice chaiperson of the Committee on Government Assurances Latif Ssebagala (centre) with other MPs and Luweero District officials at Kasana Health Centre on Wednesday. PHOTO BY DAN WANDERA
What you need to know:
- In 2015, the same committee released a report showing that the President has not delivered on 817 pledges since coming to power in 1986.
- The presidential pledges, according to the report, amount to more than Shs12.9 trillion.
LUWEERO: Members on the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances have castigated government over unfulfilled pledges made to people in Greater Luweero sub-region .
While touring various projects in the area on Wednesday, the legislators led by committee vice chairperson Latif Ssebagala, said the three districts in Greater Luweero are stuck with presidential pledges dating back to the early days of the NRM government while some development projects initiated by government stalled midway under unclear circumstances. They cited different enterprises government setup to help residents add value to their products in Nakaseke and Luweero districts, but stalled.
“The tomato processing plant at Namunkekera commissioned by President Museveni in 2013 was a hoax. The residents were mobilised to grow tomatoes with a promise that the plant would add value to their tomatoes. This never happened,” Mr Paul Lutamaguzi, a member of the committee and Nakaseke South MP, said.
The committee, which compiled a long list of unfulfilled government pledges from district leaders in Luweero, Nakaseke and Nakasongola, were shocked to learn that Luweero District has never been compensated for the buildings taken over by Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces in Bombo Town despite President Museveni promising that government was to construct new blocks to house the district headquarters. The pledge has been on for the last 25 years, according to Lutamaguzi.
In 2011, government allocated Luweero District a juice processing plant which was supposed to be located in Kasana Town. About Shs150m was released to purchase the land, but no single activity has taken place since 2012. The site is now a cattle grazing area, according to George Gakwandi, the district chief administrative officer.
Mr Gakwandi further told MPs that Luweero District has a Health Centre IV strategically located on the busy Kampala–Gulu highway but empty promises by government to elevate it to a hospital have remained on paper for years. Other unfulfilled government pledges include; a road equipment unit, upgrading and tarmacking of Ndejje-Bombo road, among other roads.
Mr Sebaggala said the committee will soon summon all the officers responsible for the stalled projects in the sub-region. “We are going to produce a report in two weeks’ time and they will all be summoned to explain,” he said.
In 2015, the same committee released a report showing that the President has not delivered on 817 pledges since coming to power in 1986. The presidential pledges, according to the report, amount to more than Shs12.9 trillion.
