MPs grill ULC officials over giveaway of railway land

Nov 23, 2021

The land in question is equivalent to 32.35 acres and is located at Nsambya and Kibuli.

Baker Mugaino Adsistant commissioner land registration and Barbara Imaryo Secretary Uganda Land Commission. Photos by Miriam Namutebi

Misairi Thembo Kahungu
Journalist @New Vision

The Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has tasked the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) to adduce evidence to whether the money paid by private developers on the Uganda Railway Corporation land (URC).

The land in question is equivalent to 32.35 acres and is located at Nsambya and Kibuli. It belonged to the URC but was allocated to private developers who missed out on the allocations for the Naguru-Nakawa land.

Early this month, URC officials led by Executive Director Stanley Ssendegeya told the COSASE chaired by Nakawa East MP Joel Ssenyonyi that the railway land was sold off at sh69.5b, but the money has never been remitted to them.

Appearing before the Committee on Tuesday, Barbarah Imaryo secretary ULC said ULC does not know whether the money was remitted to the Consolidated Fund.

Barbara Imaryo

Barbara Imaryo

“I would like to make consultations so that I can answer the question. I request that we look into our records and return to this Committee,” Imaryo said.

The MPs faulted Imaryo for failing to carry with her all the records. 

“You should have been prepared for this. It is problematic to say we don’t have this and want to go back. You prepared this document and you are supposed to be aware of what is needed here” said Ssenyonyi.

Joel Senyonyi committee chairperson COSASE

Joel Senyonyi committee chairperson COSASE

According to Imaryo, some of the beneficiaries had gone to court after missing out on the Naguru-Nakawa land, and the government entered into a consent judgement in which it agreed to take them to the railway land in Nsambya-Kibuli area.

Asked to explain how the ULC got the power to allocate the railway land to private developers,  Imaryo said the process was initiated by the Ministry of Finance working on a Presidential directive on April 30, 2010, from URC to the custody of the Commission.

This she revealed was followed by a Cabinet Minute 337(CT 2010) of October 13, 2010, authorising the transfer of 32.35 acres of the URC land at Nsambya and Kibuli to 13 private developers who had forfeited their original allocations in Naguru-Nakawa area after the government agreed with Opec Prime Properties Limited to develop a satellite city.

ULC officials revealed beneficiaries of the land as; Janet Kobusingye, Charles Kirera, National Library, Islamic University in Uganda, Nakawa Disabled Vocational Training Institute, Quakers, Church of Uganda, and, House of Dawda. 

Others are, CTM (U) Ltd, Alumus Properties Ltd, William Nkemba, YAS Company, and Access (U) Ltd.

However, the MPs have demanded to have a look at the originals of the Presidential and Cabinet directives to be able to interrogate their authenticity.

ULC has been given up to Friday, November 26 to submit all the necessary documents to the Clerk of the Committee to enable the MPs to study them before the officials re-appear on Tuesday next week.
 

 

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