PAC queries State House on IDP land
May 20, 2005
THE parliamentary public accounts committee (PAC) yesterday queried State House’s selective distribution of land to displaced people.
By Apollo Mubiru
THE parliamentary public accounts committee (PAC) yesterday queried State House’s selective distribution of land to displaced people.
The committee, chaired by Dr. Okullo Epak (Oyam South), learnt that President Yoweri museveni directed State House officials to purchase land for 54 displaced people, whom the State House comptroller, Richard Muhinda and his technical staff could not identify.
MPs also queried the criteria used to come up with only 54 displaced people out of the thousands who are displaced.
“It is in the interest of the public that the identities of these people be availed to us. This was public money used. We do not only have 54 landless people, we want to know who the beneficiaries are,†Epak said.
“There must be a criterion of giving out land. You cannot say that out of 26m Ugandans only 54 were landless,†said William Nsubuga (Buvuma).
The Auditor General’s report of 2002/03 queried sh20,814,000 State House paid S.M Geoteam firm to survey land in Masindi, Singo and Kinoni.
The President’s Private Secretary, Mohammed Omar, said though they could not produce the identities of the beneficiaries of the presidential land donations, the beneficiaries were really needy and landless.
He said 27 people benefited on a three-square mile land in Masindi, 12 benefited from a 640-acre land in Kinoni and 15 benefited from one and half square miles in Singo.
Muhinda said some of the beneficiaries were people who cried out to Museveni for help, while others approached him through their representatives.
Muhinda said State House transferred the land titles in the names of the beneficiaries.
THE parliamentary public accounts committee (PAC) yesterday queried State House’s selective distribution of land to displaced people.
The committee, chaired by Dr. Okullo Epak (Oyam South), learnt that President Yoweri museveni directed State House officials to purchase land for 54 displaced people, whom the State House comptroller, Richard Muhinda and his technical staff could not identify.
MPs also queried the criteria used to come up with only 54 displaced people out of the thousands who are displaced.
“It is in the interest of the public that the identities of these people be availed to us. This was public money used. We do not only have 54 landless people, we want to know who the beneficiaries are,†Epak said.
“There must be a criterion of giving out land. You cannot say that out of 26m Ugandans only 54 were landless,†said William Nsubuga (Buvuma).
The Auditor General’s report of 2002/03 queried sh20,814,000 State House paid S.M Geoteam firm to survey land in Masindi, Singo and Kinoni.
The President’s Private Secretary, Mohammed Omar, said though they could not produce the identities of the beneficiaries of the presidential land donations, the beneficiaries were really needy and landless.
He said 27 people benefited on a three-square mile land in Masindi, 12 benefited from a 640-acre land in Kinoni and 15 benefited from one and half square miles in Singo.
Muhinda said some of the beneficiaries were people who cried out to Museveni for help, while others approached him through their representatives.
Muhinda said State House transferred the land titles in the names of the beneficiaries.