Unra short of cash to compensate land owners

Rejected bids. Ms Allen Kagina, the UNRA Executive Director. File Photo 

In Summary

• In July 2017, at least 300 residents in three villages (Kyerima, Kiyuya and Kawumulwa) in Mubende rejected government compensation.
• They claimed their land and houses were undervalued, adding that it was too little to buy alternative land elsewhere.

By JOSEPHINE NNABBALE

Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has attributed the delayed completion of Mubende- Kakumiro-Kibaale -Kagadi road to inadequate funds to compensate Project Affected Persons (PAPs).

The project, which started on February 18, 2017, was expected to be completed last December, but only 55 per cent of the work is done.
“It is a general practice that we first compensate PAPs before the contractor embarks on a particular section of the road. In some instances, this has not been possible, compensation money has been released late thus affecting the construction speed,” Mr Michael Akankwasa, the Unra manager-in-charge of road development, said during a stakeholders’ meeting in Mubende Town at the weekend.

He said the 107km road will be completed in February 2020.

Mr Akankwasa said some local leaders have been uncooperative, which has complicated the work of government chief valuer to identify the rightful land owners and in some areas, leading to property wrangles.

Mr Akankwasa said Shs36 billion has been used to compensate some PAPs out of the total budget of Shs53b.
According to Unra, a total of 4,822 PAPs have been fully compensated while 683 PAPs are yet to receive their packages.
Mr Akankwasa said heavy rain has also forced contractors to halt work for several days.

Mr Joseph Otim, the Unra director road maintenance, said although most road projects are funded by donors, where there is counterpart financing by government, civil works are usually slow.

“You may need Shs1b to compensate people so that you can use Shs50b from the financing partners. So, this means when you do not have the Shs1b, you cannot use the other Shs50b. You must have little money in order to spend the huge amount,” Mr Otim said.

Mr Kasirivu-Atwooki, the minister of State for Economic Monitoring, admitted that there were delays in releasing project funds but advised the roads authority to persuade PAPs to allow the contractor work as they wait for compensation cash.

Advice
“As long as someone’s property has been valued and has signed the necessary documents, then this is already a done deal. What awaits is the money to be sent on the account.What we need is to talk to such people very nicely with the help of area leaders so that construction works can go on uninterrupted,” Mr Atwooki said.

In July 2017, at least 300 residents in three villages (Kyerima, Kiyuya and Kawumulwa) in Mubende rejected government compensation.
They claimed their land and houses were undervalued, adding that it was too little to buy alternative land elsewhere.

What law says
Article 273 of the Constitution vests power over land in the hands of the owners, so one has to be paid off before their land is taken away subject to Article 26. It states that: “No person shall be compulsorily deprived of property or any interest in right over property of any description except where the taking possession is necessary for public use and or is made under the law after prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation.”

However, two years ago, government introduced a Constitutional Amendment Bill 2017 on compulsory land acquisition. Government contends that it has lost huge sums of money due to delayed infrastructural projects as individuals block projects over little or delayed compensation. The five-clause Bill seeks to empower government or local governments to deposit with court, compensation awarded by government for any property declared for compulsory acquisition.