Nakawa-Naguru tenants are right
Aug 05, 2008
The tenants of Nakawa-Naguru housing estates have made their case. It is local government minister Kahinda Otafiire’s turn to say why they should be evicted without compensation.
The tenants of Nakawa-Naguru housing estates have made their case. It is local government minister Kahinda Otafiire’s turn to say why they should be evicted without compensation.
In a long interview published in The New Vision on Monday, the tenants’ leader said they support the planned redevelopment of the estates but are opposed to eviction as if they have no stake in the land.
Because their parents were government employees and have lived in the houses since the 1950s, their relationship with the Government is not that of tenants and private landlord. They should be treated in the same way as civil servants who occupied government pool houses. These were facilitated to pay for the houses in installments under a mortgage scheme and own them after 10 or so years.
The only difference with Nakawa-Naguru is that their houses are to be demolished. However, they should be given first priority to occupy the new flats and gradually buy them through mortgage as was the case with pool houses. This does not necessitate eviction. A few flats should be built on empty parts of the estates to be occupied by some families whose houses would later be broken for construction of more flats. This phased redevelopment would mean no family is homeless.
Alternatively, as the tenants have rightly suggested, they should be compensated if they must leave. The tenants should be treated as kibanja holders. Under the Land Act, a landlord cannot evict a kibanja holder without due compensation.
A developer who boasts of capacity to construct sh.1.6 trillion satellite city should be willing to spend sh57b in compensation for the land worth sh257b. This means the developer will have got land worth sh200b for free. The developer was aware that there were tenants on the land. Any contract thereof should be tri-partite, involving the Government, the developer and the tenants.
In a long interview published in The New Vision on Monday, the tenants’ leader said they support the planned redevelopment of the estates but are opposed to eviction as if they have no stake in the land.
Because their parents were government employees and have lived in the houses since the 1950s, their relationship with the Government is not that of tenants and private landlord. They should be treated in the same way as civil servants who occupied government pool houses. These were facilitated to pay for the houses in installments under a mortgage scheme and own them after 10 or so years.
The only difference with Nakawa-Naguru is that their houses are to be demolished. However, they should be given first priority to occupy the new flats and gradually buy them through mortgage as was the case with pool houses. This does not necessitate eviction. A few flats should be built on empty parts of the estates to be occupied by some families whose houses would later be broken for construction of more flats. This phased redevelopment would mean no family is homeless.
Alternatively, as the tenants have rightly suggested, they should be compensated if they must leave. The tenants should be treated as kibanja holders. Under the Land Act, a landlord cannot evict a kibanja holder without due compensation.
A developer who boasts of capacity to construct sh.1.6 trillion satellite city should be willing to spend sh57b in compensation for the land worth sh257b. This means the developer will have got land worth sh200b for free. The developer was aware that there were tenants on the land. Any contract thereof should be tri-partite, involving the Government, the developer and the tenants.