Government to pay Buganda debt
Mar 25, 2010
THE Cabinet has committed itself to pay all monies owed by Government to the Buganda Kingdom, once the amount is verified.
By Henry Mukasa
and Madinah Tebajjukira
THE Cabinet has committed itself to pay all monies owed by Government to the Buganda Kingdom, once the amount is verified.
The Cabinet, sitting yesterday and chaired by the Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, reportedly asked Mengo, the seat of Buganda Kingdom, to make an official requisition for debt clearance, according to sources.
Information minister Kabakumba Matsiko yesterday confirmed that the Cabinet had discussed issues raised by Mengo in the aftermath of the fire that gutted the Kasubi royal tombs.
“Whatever is owed to Mengo by the Government will be paid once verified and agreed on. When and how is the question,†she said.
Kabakumba cited the need for verification, saying Mengo might have a (debt) figure different from what the Government records showed.
A source who attended the meeting disclosed that the members also asked the Attorney General, Khiddu Makubuya, to compile arrears owed to Mengo by the Government. The list, the source added, should be ready within a month.
When fire gutted the Kasubi tombs on March 16, the Government instituted a Cabinet sub-committee to work with Mengo to reconstruct the site. The committee is chaired by culture minister Prof. Gabriel Opio.
A delegation, led by the third deputy premier, Kirunda Kivejinja, met the Katikkiro, Eng. JB Walusimbi, last week and conveyed the Government’s sympathy.
During the meeting, Mengo asked the Government to pay rent arrears for Buganda’s properties so that the money is used to restore the tombs, which had become a tourist attraction and were listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
Buganda also demanded an independent probe into the fire that razed down 130 years of Ganda history.
The palace was built in 1882 and was turned into a burial place in 1884 by Ssekabaka Muteesa I. Four of Buganda’s kings, Muteesa I, Mwanga Basammula, Daudi Chwa and Sir Edward Muteesa II, were laid to rest at the Kasubi tombs.
Kabakumba said the Government would support Mengo in the reconstruction of the tombs.
She explained that a probe team comprising officials from Mengo and UNESCO would be set up to investigate the cause of the fire.
Opio reportedly told the meeting that he had written to UNESCO, asking them to forward names of the officials.
Sources disclosed that members agreed to seal off the burnt Kasubi tombs after today to allow reconstruction work to start.
Mengo declared a week of mourning which ends today with prayers at the tombs. The Kabaka, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, will attend. Security around and within the tombs has been tightened.
and Madinah Tebajjukira
THE Cabinet has committed itself to pay all monies owed by Government to the Buganda Kingdom, once the amount is verified.
The Cabinet, sitting yesterday and chaired by the Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, reportedly asked Mengo, the seat of Buganda Kingdom, to make an official requisition for debt clearance, according to sources.
Information minister Kabakumba Matsiko yesterday confirmed that the Cabinet had discussed issues raised by Mengo in the aftermath of the fire that gutted the Kasubi royal tombs.
“Whatever is owed to Mengo by the Government will be paid once verified and agreed on. When and how is the question,†she said.
Kabakumba cited the need for verification, saying Mengo might have a (debt) figure different from what the Government records showed.
A source who attended the meeting disclosed that the members also asked the Attorney General, Khiddu Makubuya, to compile arrears owed to Mengo by the Government. The list, the source added, should be ready within a month.
When fire gutted the Kasubi tombs on March 16, the Government instituted a Cabinet sub-committee to work with Mengo to reconstruct the site. The committee is chaired by culture minister Prof. Gabriel Opio.
A delegation, led by the third deputy premier, Kirunda Kivejinja, met the Katikkiro, Eng. JB Walusimbi, last week and conveyed the Government’s sympathy.
During the meeting, Mengo asked the Government to pay rent arrears for Buganda’s properties so that the money is used to restore the tombs, which had become a tourist attraction and were listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
Buganda also demanded an independent probe into the fire that razed down 130 years of Ganda history.
The palace was built in 1882 and was turned into a burial place in 1884 by Ssekabaka Muteesa I. Four of Buganda’s kings, Muteesa I, Mwanga Basammula, Daudi Chwa and Sir Edward Muteesa II, were laid to rest at the Kasubi tombs.
Kabakumba said the Government would support Mengo in the reconstruction of the tombs.
She explained that a probe team comprising officials from Mengo and UNESCO would be set up to investigate the cause of the fire.
Opio reportedly told the meeting that he had written to UNESCO, asking them to forward names of the officials.
Sources disclosed that members agreed to seal off the burnt Kasubi tombs after today to allow reconstruction work to start.
Mengo declared a week of mourning which ends today with prayers at the tombs. The Kabaka, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, will attend. Security around and within the tombs has been tightened.