Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The State Minister for Lands, Persis Namuganza has painted a horrific picture of mismanagement akin to the infamous death announcement analogy of relatives, friends and in-laws at the Uganda Land Commission.
Namuganza has attributed the mess in the Land compensation to the dealings of the current chairperson of the commission Beatrice Byenkya and former lands Minister Betty Amongi.
Persis Namuganza was appearing before the Adhoc Committee of Parliament investigating compensation of 7.6 billion shillings, where she and Lands Ministers Beti Olive Kamya spent the entire Friday trying to get to the bottom of the Medard Kiconco affair over his land in Kyadondo, Lusanja, in Mpererwe and land belonging to Ephraim Entreprises which was occupied by Ndeeba church before it was razed down under curfew at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Both land owners were to receive 3.8 billion.
The budget committee also approved another 12.1 billion shillings to compensate six landlords from Bunyoro for their land acquired by government pending eviction, Kosiya Rwabukurukuru who is demanding 6.4 billion Shillings, Stephen Nagenda with 1.6 billion Shillings, and Julius Busululwa who is demanding 2.2 billion Shillings.
Others claimants are Natalia Namuli who is demanding 1.6 billion Shillings, Yisaka Lwakana who s demanding 1.17 billion Shillings and Geoffrey Mugisha who demands 1.5 billion Shillings.
Although Parliament was due to approve the money, it was deferred and the matter sent to the Adhoc committee led by Chairperson Veronica Eragu Bichetero and two others, Kumi MP Cyrus Aogon, and Kasilo MP Elijah Okupa.
This is because the chairperson of the Uganda Land Commission said that the Ministry of Lands which had tabled this request had usurped the power of the commission, and she also imputed massive criminality by claiming that the ministry was paying already paid persons, and also that the acreage was inflated.
Namuganza blamed the former Minister of Lands Betty Amongi for meddling in compensation by giving her own list priority and giving orders to everyone at the commission and ministry.
Namuganza said she ran to the President over the micro management of the fund, and when she was advised by the President to write to Amongi, the minister didn’t listen, forcing the President to call for formation of a sub committee on the fund meant to sieve out the people to be compensated.
She says that although this committee worked well for two quarters, Amongi reverted to her old ways of directing who should be paid, ignoring the commission, fellow ministers and even the committee.
Namuganza said that this is when the subcommittee and her ministry started heated exchanges with Amongi, and the structures at the commission were undermined. She says she was left redundant as the minister declared her self the only person to clear land compensation.
She says the land fund was at the centre of their bickering, something which destroyed the working relation in the ministry between the two ministers and some staff as there was no team work. She claims that everyone was left in the dark by the minister.
Namuganza also accused the current chairperson Beatrice Byenkya on single handedly deciding who should benefit from the fund after the exit of Amongi. She told the committee that Byenkya is the major cause of the problem at the commission, as she fired four people genuinely recruited by public service and has replaced them with friends and a relative.
She also claims that Byenkya is greatly feared by staff, since she uses an iron fist in handling anything to do with compensation.
Namuganza also says that when she proposed to Byenkya to use the sub committee, she rejected it and cracked down on it preferring to handle the matter of compensation alone. She says she has been left redundant at the ministry, as the chair of the commission is unadvisable.
She says the Land Commission Bill before Parliament should resolve these issues, and ensure the land commission is checked.
On the other hand, committee chairperson Veronica Eragu Bichetero asked Lands Minister Beti Kamya to explain the procedure she followed to request the supplementary and if due process was done to pay the landlords.
Kamya told the committee that she acted through a presidential directive which was both through a phone call and a letter written by the Principle Private Secretary to the President.
She says that although the supplementary was stopped allegedly because the Ministry didn’t consult the commission, this is not true as she copied the commission in all her letters requesting for the supplementary. Kamya said although the land commission is the administrator of government land, the law allows the Minister to make a request to cabinet or the Ministry of finance in regards to a vote under the Ministry.
She also told the committee that for all the six land owners due for compensation, due diligence was followed as they already existed in the system, were verified, their land was surveyed and valued and part payment was made.
When contacted, Betty Amongi denied all the allegations stating that Namuganza sought to assuming powers that she never had.
Amongi says that she was the head of the Ministry, and a presidential directive came straight to her, and that’s why Namuganza claims she mismanaged the process. She says the law gave her the legal mandate on policy directives to Uganda Land Commission.
She says she took charge of the land fund, because the President writes to the Minister and not the commission chairperson.
The chairperson of the Commission Beatrice Byenkya denied the allegations against her, saying it is the Ministers who are frustrating the work of the commission. She says she asked the Ministers to investigate her, if at all she was in any wrong.
Although the Land commission is mandated to manage government estates and act independently, Article 55 of the Land Act requires that in the performance of its functions under the constitution, Uganda Land Commission shall conform to the policy of the government in relation to land matters. It also says that subject to the constitution, the Minister may without prejudice to any other powers he or she may have under this Act, give to the commission such policy directions as are necessary to ensure compliance with subsection and the commission shall give effect to the directions.
This has all been at the centre of conflict in the commission with both the Ministry and Commission taking charge of the land compensation.
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