Land grabbing stalls sh800b aviation academy expansion in Soroti
Academy officials say private developers have occupied parts of the institution’s land, while about 50 houses and plots belonging to the academy were allegedly sold by encroachers.
The planned sh800b expansion of the East African Civil Aviation Academy (EACAA) in Soroti city is under threat following alleged encroachment and the unauthorised sale of some of the institution’s land. (Courtesy photo)
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The planned sh800b expansion of the East African Civil Aviation Academy (EACAA) in Soroti city is under threat following alleged encroachment and the unauthorised sale of some of the institution’s land.
Academy officials say private developers have occupied parts of the institution’s land, while about 50 houses and plots belonging to the academy were allegedly sold by encroachers.
The matter came to light during a four-day monitoring exercise in the Teso sub-region by the Minister of State for Economic Monitoring in the Office of the President, Santa Sandra Alum.
The minister, who was assessing Government wealth-creation programmes in Kapelebyong, Kalaki, Bukedea and Soroti city, inspected the academy and was briefed on the land challenges affecting its expansion plans.
Chief aircraft maintenance engineering instructor Mackay Engwau said the academy was preparing to take legal action to evict people occupying its land illegally.
He said the matter was particularly serious because the academy is a regional institution whose assets are not solely Ugandan.
“The properties belong to the East African Community, not just the Government of Uganda,” Engwau said.
He warned that the alleged sale of the academy’s land could therefore have implications beyond Uganda, particularly if regional assets were transferred without the necessary authority.
Engwau said the encroachment was also limiting the academy’s ability to expand its facilities.
The academy is operating under an ambitious sh800b infrastructure development plan aimed at upgrading its runway, rehabilitating buildings and acquiring additional aircraft to improve training.
Quality manager Abel Mugisha said the institution was already struggling with inadequate resources to meet its training obligations.
He said the academy currently has 104 staff against an establishment of 152, leaving a gap of 48 workers.
The academy was also allocated only sh12b out of the sh36b it had budgeted for its operations.
Of its nine aircraft, only six are currently operational for the training of pilots and aircraft engineers.
Mugisha said securing the academy’s land was critical to the implementation of its expansion plans.
Other projects under scrutiny
The concerns at EACAA emerged alongside questions over the management of public investments in the Teso sub-region.
During the same monitoring exercise, Alum inspected the Soroti Value Addition Facility, a sh23b project constructed by the Ministry of Local Government to process and package cereals.
Alum said she would raise the matter with the current Local Government minister, Balaam Barugahara, and seek an explanation for the facility’s continued inactivity.
Soroti East Division MP Moses Okia Attan described the failure of such projects as economic sabotage, saying operational facilities would create jobs and provide markets for farmers.
He said the value-addition facility could have helped farmers dealing in groundnuts and simsim (sesame) earn more from their produce.
Emyooga concerns
Alum also expressed concern over the performance of Emyooga SACCOs in the region, contrasting it with what she described as positive results from the Parish Development Model (PDM) and cattle-restocking programmes.
She said monitoring teams had found cases of corruption, extortion and manipulation among some Emyooga SACCO leaders.
According to Alum, some SACCOs had mismanaged seed capital, while poor loan recovery had further weakened the programme.
She cited about sh50m in seed capital that she said had been misappropriated in the SACCOs monitored.
However, she said PDM and cattle-restocking interventions had positively affected beneficiaries in parts of Kapelebyong, Kalaki, Bukedea and Soroti city.
The findings from the monitoring exercise are expected to be compiled into a report covering the performance of wealth-creation programmes and challenges affecting major public institutions and investments in the sub-region.