Chaos as Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) councilors demand Executive Director to avail to the council a list of contractors who completed constructing some of the roads in the Authority.
Councilors boiled in the council meeting when two Chinese who purported to be representing their companies when asked to identify themselves did not present their companies IDs but instead one presented workers permit which had already expired while the other presented visa which was also invalid.
Councilor Hakim Kizza the secretary to the Works Committee asked the visitors to present the documents regarding their contracts but in a minimizing way they said that they are only answerable to their bosses not KCCA Council.
This angered the councilors and started boiling and councilor GadafI Jafari Kamya threw plastic bottles to the Deputy Executive Director who also doubles as the director in charge of Works and Engineering sector while insulting him and calling him a thief .
The commotion in the council chambers prompted police at the City Hall to swing into action only to be denied entrance by the deputy speaker Nasuru Masaba who stood at the entrance and closed the door and while exchanging, he informed the police men that they are not supposed to enter the council chambers when not invited by the speaker.
However after the commotion that lasted for about ten minutes, the situation normalized and the speaker Zahara Luyirika called the council to order and councilors started normal debating.
It was from this note that councilor Moses Kataabu moved a motion that the Authority’s Executive Director and his deputy be arrested and put in police shells.
The deputy speaker, Masaba said that the purported contractors who turned up to council meeting where not the one that the speaker invited, these were contractors who had not even started their projects.
“ The contractors who turned up where not the one that we invited and besides that they didn’t have valid identification document that allows them to stay in Uganda.’’ Masaba stated.
He adds; “ as council we wanted to interrogate contractors who have handled the already completed projects but the executive wing instead brought those who are preparing to undertake new projects funded by UDB, and JAICA.’’
Masaba said that as council they will not rest until the documents regarding the contracts done by KCCA with companies that are constructing roads and drainage channels are availed to council.
The lord Mayor Erias Lukwago who also attended the meeting cautioned the executive wing to stop undermining the political wing because the councilors are mandated by the people to do the oversight role.
“We need to respect each other to avoid hostility. Stop maligning the elected leaders because they have the mandate of their electorate. It does go well when you say when on media that council is not doing any worker that it’s the technical side the performs all the work.’’ Lukwago cautioned.
He further said that bring ant-riot police to the council chambers will not solve any problems, it’s only when contract documents that when availed to councilors that will help solve such problems.
He also cautioned the council not to halt the ongoing work on roads and drainage channels because the executive wing uses that as a fighting weapon. Thy normally tell the people of Kampala that it’s the councilors who are sabotaging the construction projects yet they are trying to do their oversight role.
The deputy Executive Director Eng. David Luyimbazi said that he can not avail the contract documents to councilors because they must be cleared by the Solicitor General and seeking guidance.
“ The executive officials of KCCA reports to the minister for Kampala who is also by law mandated to give us directives but not council.’’ Eng. Luyimbazi reasoned.
He further said that it was unfair for the speaker to invite contractors to attend council meeting without giving the ample time to prepare themselves.
Luyimbazi also said that China Communication Construction Company Limited has been in Africa for twenty years and it’s the one that constructed the Entebbe Express High Way and that there’s no way it could send representatives with invalid identification documents.
By George Bukenya