Malaba councillors clash over revenue collection

By Faustine Odeke

A meeting of Malaba town council on Thursday turned rowdy when the bickering councillors got divided over revenue collections.

Tempers flared when the secretary for finance, Stephen Ebere, ordered the acting town clerk, Samali Sabano Epiat, to shut up whenever she tried to explain technical issues.

Ebere explained that Epiat was not a councillor and could not, therefore, fully deliberate on issues. He said Epiat gave blunt explanations about issues without documentary evidence.

Ebere also accused Epiat of poor service delivery as compared to the allocations in the budget. His outburst angered some of the councillors who supported Epiat.

Epiat said her woes with the councillors accrued from the delayed payment of their allowances. She also said her action to follow the right procedures had blocked some of the councillors from getting tenders in the council.

The speaker, Mugisha Orono, was forced to suspend James Ekode, the councillor for Akolodongo ward, from the session for 15 minutes after he constantly intimidated Epiat.

It all started when the female youth councillor, Stella Imukutet, raised the issue of collection of parking fines, which, she said, had met a lot of political interference.

She accused some of the councillors of demanding for bribes from the collectors. Earlier, the council resolved to contract Moses Okachuga to collect the fines on behalf of the council, but he reportedly failed to regularly remit the funds to the council.

However, John Moris Osore, who was also sub-contracted to collect the revenue, reportedly remitted the funds to the council and had employed 30 youth to help him.

The councillors, who were divided between Okachuga and Osore, threw insults at each other before the speaker ruled over the matter and revoked the resolution that allowed Okachuga to collect the fines.

The councillors later resolved to give the offer to Osore basing on his outstanding performance.